Mass Shootings, Mental Health, and Mental Illness: What You Need To Know
At The CCC we are saddened by the news of a shooting incident and multiple gunshot victims at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on February 14, 2018.
Our thoughts and prayers are with those impacted by this tragedy, but we know that this not enough. We can only imagine the devastation this has caused for the students, teachers, staff, and their families.
After these types of events, the media tends to focus on the relationship between mental illness and mass shootings. We feel it is essential to use the right language and focus our energy in the right areas following this tragedy. According to a 2016 report published by the American Psychiatric Association,
Mass shootings by people with serious mental illness represent less than 1% of all yearly gun-related homicides.
The overall contribution of people with serious mental illness to violent crimes is only about 3%. When these crimes are examined in detail, an even smaller percentage of them are found to involve firearms. Laws intended to reduce gun violence that focus on a population representing less than 3% of all gun violence will be extremely low yield, ineffective, and wasteful of scarce resources.
Perpetrators of mass shootings are unlikely to have a history of involuntary psychiatric hospitalization. Thus, databases intended to restrict access to guns and established by guns laws that broadly target people with mental illness will not capture this group of individuals.
Gun restriction laws focusing on people with mental illness perpetuate the myth that mental illness leads to violence, as well as the misconception that gun violence and mental illness are strongly linked. Stigma represents a major barrier to access and treatment of mental illness, which in turn increases the public health burden.
Although some mass shooters have a history of psychiatric illness, no reliable research has suggested that a majority of perpetrators are primarily influenced by serious mental illness rather than psychological turmoil flowing from other sources.
In a detailed case study of five mass murderers who did survive, a number of common traits and historical factors were discovered:
The subjects had all been bullied or isolated during childhood and later identified as loners who were socially alienated
They demonstrated paranoid traits and were often suspicious or prone to holding grudges
Their worldview was paranoid and they believed others were generally rejecting and uncaring
They spent a great deal of time feeling resentful and ruminating on past humiliations. These ruminations then evolved into fantasies of violent revenge
The argument that those with mental illness are inherently more likely to commit violent crimes or mass shootings is entirely unsupported by research. However, many mass shooters have been identified to suffer from problems with self-esteem, a persecutory/paranoid outlook, narcissism, depression, suicidality, and a perception of being socially rejected. Many of these issues are developed socially and within our communities and are not entirely associated with a psychiatric diagnosis.
Mental disorders are not always present in acts of violence. The significant determinants of violence continue to be socio-demographic and socio-economic factors like being young, male, and of lower socio-economic status. Substance abuse also appears to be a significant determinant of violence, and this is true whether it occurs in the context of co-occurring mental illness or not. Individuals with substance use disorders are substantial contributors to violence in the community.
Unfortunately, following an incident like the one at Stoneman Douglass, media personnel are likely to describe the shooter as “mentally unstable,” “sick,” “crazy,” “unwell,” or “mentally ill.” This reaction is understandable. Following a tragedy of this magnitude, we are all looking for answers and someone to blame. Yes, there are people with a mental illness who are violent and commit violent, horrific acts. It might be fair to say that anyone who commits this type of crime is not mentally healthy. But, the majority of people with a mental illness diagnosis are non-violent. This type of discriminatory dialogue is unhelpful and reinforces negative public perception about mental illness. The language also dissuades people from seeking appropriate resources. According to the American Psychiatric Association, the recent phenomenon of mass shootings in the United States is likely a result of a combination of factors, including socio-cultural ones that must be understood to prevent these tragedies.
Mental Health v. Mental Illness
In the wake of these events, “mental health” and “mental illness” are commonly used as if they mean the same thing, but they don’t. Everyone has mental health, just like everyone has health. Throughout life, not all people will experience a mental illness, but everyone will struggle or have a challenge with their psychological well-being or mental health. We will also struggle with issues with our physical health from time to time.
When we discuss mental health, we’re talking about our overall psychological well-being: things like our emotions, feelings, and thoughts come into play. We are also referring to our ability to solve problems and overcome difficulties, our social lives, and our understanding of our world.
A mental illness is a diagnosable psychiatric illness that meets specific criteria and impacts the way people think, feel, behave, or interact. There are many different mental illnesses, and they all have different criteria.
How Can You Help?
Most of the research on violence and mental illness has focused on the individual with the mental illness, rather than the social exchanges that led up to the violence. We know very little about the worlds of these individuals and the factors that may have led them to act out in violence.
If you think we need better mental health care in this country, you are right. But, the way we talk about this is significant. As a community, we need to reach out to individuals who may be struggling with social isolation and encourage them to get assistance. An open and non-pathological dialogue about mental illness and mental health issues is one of the many ways we can encourage individuals to seek help. It is our hope at the CCC that you will join us in promoting mental health care and supporting a healthy dialogue around mass shootings and mental illness.
We are here for you if you need help processing the events that have happened. The CCC is currently offering free in-office and telehealth counseling services to anyone impacted. We will continue to work hard and fight for legislation, programming, and early intervention to assure no student has to experience this in the future. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you need assistance.