Mass Shootings ARE a Mental Health Problem

And saying so isn’t stigmatising the mentally ill or excusing violence

Part of a viral Facebook post by Rhet Richardson about mass shootings

Can you see how many permutations there are? The complexity that can arise from layers of factors at every step of a person’s mental health journey and lead to healing and ending the cycle, or disaster and inflicting trauma in another?

It is decidedly NOT saying a perpetrator’s mental illness minimises the harm caused to victims of violence. Or that mental illness excuses a violent person from the harm they caused or the consequences of their actions.

Men are not the problem. White people are not the problem. Just as women are not the problem. Minorities are not the problem.

Violence is a trust problem. It’s caused by a loss of trust, and in turn breaks trust. But preventing violence, requires building trust. Starting early on, in childhood. Parents, educators and community providing a safe space for children to grow and learn in an environment where they can trust and not be afraid that others will harm them.

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“The nature of our immortal lives is in the consequences of our words and deeds” — Cloud Atlas

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“The nature of our immortal lives is in the consequences of our words and deeds” — Cloud Atlas