“I Am Adam Lanza’s Mother” Sparks Debate About Mental Health
Although there have been plenty of discussions about gun control, what about the topic of taking a closer look at mental health issues?
In the wake of the tragedy that took the lives of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., a blogger from across the country was arguably the first to break through the noise and galvanize a debate around mental health.
Liza Long’s blog post about raising a mentally ill child, “I Am Adam Lanza’s Mother,” talks about her experiences raising her 13-year-old son, whom she describes as a gifted but unpredictable child who has threatened to kill her and himself.
As she put it, “I love my son. But he terrifies me."
Her blog post quickly went viral, got picked up by the The Huffington Post and others, earned a million likes on Facebook, and led to Long's appearance on CNN to talk about the way mental illness is stigmatized in America.
“I am sharing this story because I am Adam Lanza’s mother,” Long wrote. “I am Dylan Klebold’s and Eric Harris’s mother. I am James Holmes’s mother. I am Jared Loughner’s mother. I am Seung-Hui Cho’s mother. And these boys—and their mothers—need help.”
The Facts About Mental Health
The issue is enormous: An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older suffer from mental disorders in a given year, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
That’s one in four people in the country, or about 57.7 million people. And more than 90 percent of people who commit suicide have a diagnosable mental disorder.
But many of us don’t know how to talk about these figures, or where to find the solution. The Newtown tragedy sparked a national conversation about gun control and legislative action - but Americans are just beginning their conversations with one another about mental health.
What do you think we should do? We know many of our young people are angry, depressed, anxious. Can we help each other as parents, teachers, neighbors?
Ken
5:00 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
This sounds an awful lot like what Ive been saying. I spent a few days last week in Sandy Hook. Could I find someone that thought the guns were the problem? Definitely ! The vast majority thought the mental issue was the main problem. There are some that respond to what I have posted that want nothing more than to argue. they take part of what you say and add their ending to it. One example of that is when I said my wife drives a school bus and is afraid of 1 of the 10 yr old students on her bus because the kid has threatemed to kill her and others on the bus. the kid ahs obvious mental issues that the shcool for what ever reason doesnt do anything about. I finished the post with we need better mental health care. To that the person said that I must be saying that bus drivers should now carry guns.I have come to the conclusion that she just want to bait people into an arguement so I will no longer respond to her no matter what names she calls me this time. If they do ban all guns and dont address the mental health issue because of people like this who will they blame then? Because the killing wont stop. It is sad on both sides when people with agendas impede progress. I can see restricting the amount a clip can hold and doing better background checks even making people take training before they can buy a gun but the bottom line is there needs to be better mental health care. everyone could use some help now and then.