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Deinstitutionalization:What Is the Real Cause of Mass Shootings Today?
The Balance.com ^ | July 11, 2017 | Kimberly Amadeo

Posted on 10/04/2017 8:34:28 AM PDT by KeyLargo

Deinstitutionalization: How Does It Affect You Today? What Is the Real Cause of Mass Shootings Today?

By Kimberly Amadeo Updated July 11, 2017

Definition: Deinstitutionalization is a government policy that moved mental health patients out of state-run "insane asylums" into federally funded community mental health centers. It began in the 1960s as a way to improve treatment of the mentally ill while also cutting government budgets.

In 1955, the number peaked at 558,000 patients or 0.03 percent of the population. If the same percentage of the population were institutionalized today, that would be 750,000 mentally ill people.

That's more than the population of Baltimore or San Francisco.

Between 1955 and 1994, roughly 487,000 mentally ill patients were discharged from state hospitals. ​That lowered the number to only 72,000 patients. States closed most of their hospitals. That permanently reduced the availability of long-term, in-patient care facilities. By 2010, there were 43,000 psychiatric beds available. This equated to about 14 beds per 100,000 people. This was the same ratio as in 1850. (Source: “Timeline: Deinstitutionalization and Its Consequences,” Mother Jones, April 29, 2013.)

As a result, 2.2 million of the severely mentally ill do not receive any psychiatric treatment at all. About 200,000 of those who suffer from schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are homeless. That's one-third of the total homeless population. Ten percent are veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or other war-related injuries.

(Source: "Deinstitutionalization and the Homeless Mentally Ill," Hospital Community Psychiatry, September 1984, 35(9), 899-907.)

More than 300,000 are in jails and prisons. This means 16 percent of all inmates are severely mentally ill. There were about 100,000 psychiatric beds in both public and private hospitals.

(Excerpt) Read more at thebalance.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: democrats; diagnosis; firearms; guncontrol; guns; lasvegas; massmurder; medications; mentalhealth; nra; paddock; psychiatric; public; safety; shooting; violence
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"Stephen Paddock, the 64-year-old man who killed 58 people and wounded hundreds in Las Vegas Sunday night was prescribed anti-anxiety medication in June, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "

"Deinstitutionalization and Mass Murders

Could deinstitutionalization have contributed to the rise of mass shootings? Since 1976, there has been an average of 20 mass murders a year. J. Reid Meloy, Ph.D., is a forensic psychologist who studied them. He found that mass murderers suffer mental illnesses that range from chronic psychotic disturbances and schizophrenia to paranoid disorders. They have the paranoid, narcissistic and schizoid traits of personality disorders.

These were not normal people who simply "snapped." Instead, they suffered for years from untreated or poorly treated mental illness. Most planned the shooting for years. Meloy argues that behavioral threat assessments are available and that these are our best hope of prevention. (Source: "Seven Myths of Mass Murder," Psychology Today, April 21, 2014.)"

1 posted on 10/04/2017 8:34:28 AM PDT by KeyLargo
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To: KeyLargo

yuo - it’s psycho tropic drugs.


2 posted on 10/04/2017 8:35:26 AM PDT by vooch (America First Drain the Swamp)
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To: KeyLargo

I agree with the sentiment that letting crazy people run loose was a bad idea, though we don’t have all the facts in on this particular case yet.


3 posted on 10/04/2017 8:37:08 AM PDT by LouieFisk
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To: vooch

“In 1955, the number peaked at 558,000 patients or 0.03 percent of the population...”

Wrong. It’s 0.3%.

Percentages ... how do they work?


4 posted on 10/04/2017 8:39:31 AM PDT by Skepolitic
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To: KeyLargo

I’ve been saying for YEARS that the Lunatics are running the Asylum...and I don’t just mean members of the Socialist Democrat Party!

So, instead of addressing the underlying problems with the mass shootings, we’ll just blame the guns.

Got it. *SPIT*


5 posted on 10/04/2017 8:41:11 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set!)
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To: KeyLargo

“What Is the Real Cause of Mass Shootings Today?”

One world globalist subversives. Just ask Soros.


6 posted on 10/04/2017 8:43:15 AM PDT by WKUHilltopper (WKU 2016 Boca Raton Bowl Champions)
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To: KeyLargo

Wasn’t this guy supposed to be a big poker player?

Would a professional poker player want to be “cool” at the table?

Would he be angling for anti-anxiety drugs?


7 posted on 10/04/2017 8:45:42 AM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: KeyLargo

um... there has always been mass murderers. The only difference now... a LOT more people

in 1890 there were only 62 million in the US, today 320, million. If there was a 1 in 60 million chance in 1890... and that percentage chase simply held true... there would be 5 times more mass murders today simply based on the difference in population size. And that doesn’t even factor in that a higher population also provides more targets in a smaller space.


8 posted on 10/04/2017 8:46:36 AM PDT by TexasFreeper2009 (Make America Great Again !)
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To: KeyLargo

Yeah but if we re-institutionalized how are we going to survive skynet?


9 posted on 10/04/2017 8:47:25 AM PDT by DannyTN
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To: KeyLargo
If the same percentage of the population were institutionalized today, that would be 750,000 mentally ill people. That's more than the population of Baltimore or San Francisco.

If the population of SF is anywhere near 750,000, then that number should be a minimum for crazies in the U.S. rather than a maximum.

10 posted on 10/04/2017 8:51:24 AM PDT by jiggyboy (Ten percent of poll respondents are either lying or insane)
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To: KeyLargo
Many killers were people with grievances -- imagined or real -- who acted out.

Most of these killers probably wouldn't have been institutionalized back in the old days.

On the other hand, many people who were just lonely and strange were.

11 posted on 10/04/2017 8:51:25 AM PDT by x
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To: WKUHilltopper

What is causing mass shootings? Morals, lack of belief in God, the lack of people believing in the 10 commandments. When they were removed from public places I knew we were in trouble


12 posted on 10/04/2017 8:52:57 AM PDT by rstark56
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To: KeyLargo

While it may not apply to the LV auto sniper, I agree that closing state run institutions was inhumane and stupid. We are all suffering now. The crazies know you can never commit them against their will, they have rights even though they are bat sh!t crazy. So yes, almost all of the mass murderers would have been sate in institution 100 years ago. I think that is a true statement.


13 posted on 10/04/2017 8:53:22 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: KeyLargo

This guy was a licensed pilot, worked as a DoD contractor (clearance), and was a multi-millionaire. Given the background, medical history and level of functioning required, the only way he would have ever come under the scrutiny of “mental health professionals” is if he wanted to. The authors points are reasonable, but this guy is NOT a good case to make the point, he is the exception if anything.


14 posted on 10/04/2017 8:54:24 AM PDT by LambSlave
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To: KeyLargo

Our culture has turned away from God and believes we can solve all of our problems without him.


15 posted on 10/04/2017 8:57:56 AM PDT by G Larry (There is no great virtue in bargaining with the Devil)
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To: KeyLargo

I am with you.

With a background in law enforcement at several levels and being a combat veteran, my views on firearms differs from much of what I read and hear. I don’t see the use of firearms in these killings any different than I do an automobile with a DUI at the wheel.

I believe we are looking at two different causal factors. One has to do with perpetrators seeped in a religious ideology they believe calls for the killing of infidels. Those, of course are of radical Islam.
But the other group is different. These are clearly people with mental issues.

There appears to be an uncanny correlation between these white mass murderers and psychiatric drugs. Sitting in a doctor’s office two years ago, waiting for my annual physical,I read an article pointing out that in 31 of the most recent murders (or attempts), at schools and the like, the shooter was on one of the hard, usually prescription, drugs, it also noted a high percentage of suicides are also related. Interestingly, the mental health community has counseled law enforcement not to inform the public of this fact because others on the drugs may stop using them and become worse. - a very complicated problem.

It seems to me we need to concentrate our attention and prayers to combating the actual causes. These are people with mental health issues. How do we get them off the streets? Maybe, just maybe, it is the psychiatric community who are failing us and all society..


16 posted on 10/04/2017 8:58:04 AM PDT by elpadre (AfganistaMr Obama said theoal was to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-hereQaeda" and its allies.)
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To: rstark56

Started in ‘62.


17 posted on 10/04/2017 9:01:02 AM PDT by WKUHilltopper (WKU 2016 Boca Raton Bowl Champions)
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To: Skepolitic

you replied to wrong person


18 posted on 10/04/2017 9:04:23 AM PDT by vooch (America First Drain the Swamp)
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To: LambSlave

“This guy was a licensed pilot, worked as a DoD contractor (clearance), and was a m...”

Paddock allowed his FAA Medical Certificate to Expire in 2010, although he being someone as we know couldn’t care less about laws, could continue flying his airplanes assuming he would not be caught doing so without a Medical. He knew that using such medications would disqualify him for a Medical certificate.

Depression/Anxiety requiring medication
Pilots taking antidepressants/anti-
anxiety medication are disqualified, except
for
the 4 S.S.R.I. mediations which
require a Special Issuance (see attached SSRI Special Issuance Protocol). If the mediation and the diagnosis for
which it was prescribed are
no longer present then a pilot may be considered for certification. Remember it is not
only the medication, but what the medication was prescribed for that could be disqualifying.
Initial report to the F.A.A.
A.
Must be off medication for at l
east
6
0 days and have no evidence of recurrence of symptoms to be
considered for certification.
B.
Please provide a current status letter (dated within the last 90 days) from the treating physician to
include,
diagnosis,
medical t
reatment of depression or anxiety (including names and dosages of
meds), as well as how long treatment was provided, history of the illness and if any hospitalization
was required and prognosis

http://pilotdr.com/depression_all.pdf


19 posted on 10/04/2017 9:07:32 AM PDT by KeyLargo
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To: KeyLargo

The antidepressant SSRI drugs. They have warnings right on the label. That is by far the biggest cause.
Mix in a sicko culture or people hating Christianity, chopping off their penises, all the TV shows being super sick, macabre and violent, and a pussified male generation pretending they are soldiers in games, sports, fashion, etc, and I think you get pretty close.

In other words, take a male. Strip away all religious decency. Add in tons of porn, Living Dead, Sons of Anarchy, Game of Thrones, countless gruesome TV medical and detective shows, have Planned Parenthood get caught on video -laughing- about selling baby body parts, have a corrupt control freak government that increasingly adds pressure to every single aspect of life, add in 16 years of constant war with no end in sight, fetish out on military stuff like these loser Timmy tacticals do buying the ARs, growing the seal beard, etc... then when his empty life hits home, he gets on SSRI drugs that warn of suicidal and homicidal ideation right on the label.
The firearms are the most miniscule part of this.

And everyone acts shocked when this happens sometimes.


20 posted on 10/04/2017 9:07:38 AM PDT by DesertRhino (Dog is man's best friend, and moslems hate dogs. Add that up.)
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