I want to express my heartfelt sympathy to Rep. Giffords, her staff, and the citizens of Arizona who were killed or injured in the senseless tragedy on January 8.
Even though much has been created about the mental state of the accused killer, no 1 but knows what drove the young man to engage in such a violent act. Even so, it ought to be stressed that a person with a mental wellness condition is no much more likely to be violent than any other person.
Usually following incidents like this, folks who knew the accused ask themselves what they could have carried out to stop the tragedy. No 1 knows what, if anything, could have been accomplished to alter the course of events, but now there is a way for individuals to take action and possibly prevent such tragedies from happening.
A novel, evidence-based public education program exists that teaches average men and women how to assess a scenario, pick and implement suitable interventions, and assist a individual in crisis or creating the signs and symptoms of mental illness. This groundbreaking training equips individuals to present initial aid until suitable expert, peer, or family members support can be engaged. Participants also find out about the risk factors and warning signs of particular illnesses such as anxiety, depression, psychosis, and addiction.
The training has also done a lot to expand peoples understanding of mental illnesses and their treatments, and decrease the stigma associated with mental illness by helping individuals realize and accept mental illness as a medical condition. Training courses are offered about the country, permitting as several folks as possible to take benefit of this program. The locations for these courses can be found on the websites of participating national mental well being care organizations.
We also know that soon after highly publicized tragedies like this, people might be looking for mental well being counseling. To discover a provider, we suggest that they use search tools that can also be found on the internet sites of national mental health care organizations.
We, of course, realize that no amount of training can guarantee these horrific acts wont recur, but we do encourage that people get trained and be far better informed in the hope that they might be able to assist and intervene early.