Mental Health Awareness after Columbine

As I look up old op-eds, there seems to less of a question of outside influence on the two killers. Violent society, violent movies, violent video games, violent music, Hitler, even the US govt, etc...

Very few ask the question of if there was something uniquely wrong with the two killers. As Chris Rock said, "What ever happened to crazy?"

Fortunately, I think taking care of "crazy" improved a lot after Columbine, even if people didn't see it that way at the time. Yes, mass shootings happen, but people see it as the result of a mental state now.

Nature vs. Nurture etc.

The diathesis-stress model also may explain people's actions/reactions.

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*I personally believe that some mass shootings happen simply because the shooter wants to be infamous and has nothing to do with stress/environment/etc.

sororityalpha wrote:

Nature vs. Nurture etc.

The diathesis-stress model also may explain people's actions/reactions.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

*I personally believe that some mass shootings happen simply because the shooter wants to be infamous and has nothing to do with stress/environment/etc.

I believe the fame motive is a big one, but only someone with mental illness would go through with it.

I just find it so sad and absolutely heart wrenching that no one reached out to them or that no one saw the warning signs. THERE WERE SO MANY !!! If somebody would've one ounce of attention to them, maybe they'd still be alive. Maybe the victims would still be alive. Maybe Dylan and Eric would be getting help and would be okay by now. It just makes SO sad.

wtf does mental health even mean any more?

Answer that for me.

I don't know either @Sane One.

What do you think it means?

Who's to say that there was definitely a sickness that changed there mind and made them deranged. Maybe that's just the way there mind was in the first place. We can't be sure oh there brain changed and there's medication and/or theraphy that would take away the sickness and make there brain change back

Strange behavior of teenagers is often blamed on adolescence. And partly it makes sense, as do most of these "symptoms" and undergo with age. Against this background, it is very difficult to distinguish the real disease, which masked an adolescent carelessness and different challenges of adolescence. This is especially true for those teenagers who for whatever reason do not fit in the company of their peers. After all, the reason is not always a mental illness, but often the stereotypes in society that all must meet.

    Most mental illnesses develop by themselves and are associated with abnormalities occurring inside the body. Depression Dylan was associated with the changes in his brain, but it was compounded by some social isolation. This does not mean that he would be mentally healthy if he was more popular and had the girl he wanted. He was still in need of help, but he definitely would not have teetered on the brink and probably would not be afraid to talk about their problems to their loved ones.

    As for Eric, he was the one who had to exert a lot of effort in order to be accepted into the company of peers. Frequent moves of his family, a discrepancy of his appearance unwritten standards made him vulnerable. This is to some extent reflected in his psyche. In the case of Eric environmental factors played a really big role. The treatment did not help Eric. Pills do not solve external problems, they can only correct the imbalance of chemicals in the body. But when the reason lies in the relationship, then you need to start with them.

Nice analysis [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].

No matter what happens in life someone still has to decide to kill others or himself/herself.

Coming to that decision is something none of us have done.

We don't really know, from experience, what it was like in Eric/Dylan's minds when they came to that decision.

It is very sad that they did.