According to a latest research, National Comorbidity Study Replication or NCS-R, it has been found that approximately one out of ten American is angry as well as possesses arms. Around 1.5% of these are taking the guns in public. It has been found that there are chances that they are more towards personality disorder or mental illness.
However, the study reveals; the risk is posed to the public because of their angry outbursts in the past. Patterns of spontaneous livid behavior have been found in these people.
Mental illness: A Minor Part of Violence
The lead author of this research, Jeffrey Swanson, who is also serving at the Duke Medicine in psychiatry and behavioral sciences department, says that the focus is not on mental illness here. This, in fact, is a minor part of the overall violence. He also explains that most of the people committing crimes do not encompass serious mental conditions.
In the study, it was found that people having backgrounds of impulsive behavior or anger were possibly also having the mental issues like anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or depression. However, this partly covered the cause of their violence. The underlying and major cause was anger.
Impulsive anger: The Major Cause of Violence
Beth McGinty of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research explains that impulsive anger is an altogether different issue and should not be seen alongside mental illnesses. Impulsive anger occurs due to repeated aggression-filled episodes, and this can blow up suddenly.
The study highlights the fact that the U.S. does not have laws to restrict people with serious anger issues to have smooth access to the fire weapons. David Hemenway of Harvard Injury Control Research Center says that there should be stringent laws to restrict this access.
Swanson suggests that firearms restrictions should focus on the behavioral predictors. For example, people with the background of misdemeanor violent physical attacks or multiple DUIs, should be checked. He also suggests that the discretion should be left to the police chiefs because they are aware of the people living in their vicinity.
It’s shocking to me that in this day and age there are still people who don’t understand the difference between depression the mood and depression the clinical illness.
Depression the mood is triggered by something, an event, a tragedy, whatever. Depression the clinical illness, however, just chooses its victims randomly, and strikes randomly. I was at a party once, dancing, having fun, and then it came.
A dark cloud suddenly hovering over my mind. And there was nothing I could do about it but wait for it to pass. It took it’s time to pass.
It’s no surprise then, that people who have the condition are looking away from the medical community and looking for alternative treatments like homeopathy.
Whatever it is, there needs to be more awareness about this, and hopefully from my input more people will take the initiative to learn about the illness and not be so quick to judge.