Oddly enough, yesterday I concluded that I needed to
research violent tendencies in male youth, to implement some new approaches
with clients at work. We don’t know a lot about the Connecticut school shooter
yet, so I am not going to assume all the research I did tonight could pertain
to him. But I felt reassured at the wealth of information out there and early
prevention strategies available. I wish we would shift as a country towards mental
health intervention at the slightest sign of maladaptive tendencies in a person
and towards prevention through cultivating coping skills and providing
resources.
I don’t understand the stigma around care for mental health.
We have all had maladaptive tendencies at some point, just like we’ve all had
the flu or chicken pox. Sometimes we all need a doctor, acupuncturist,
curandera, or specialist to cure our physical ailments. Sometimes we all need a
therapeutic intervention which suits our personality to cure our mental
ailments. We’re people. We fluctuate. We’re not always okay physically or
mentally. One of my friends says, “We all have our crazy.”
The school shooting today made me antsy with desire to do
something…anything. Small as it might be, I feel more inspired to continue
seeking, researching, and over time, creating more interventions for at-risk
youth. More prevention efforts must be devoted to violence and aggression.
Unchecked, their reach can be even more exponential and devastating than a
highly contagious physical illness, as today has demonstrated.
I say all this because I know a lot of people want to do
something in the wake of this tragedy. Dissonant as we are, maybe a collective
piece of our happy is creating a kinder world, however each of us see that. Instead
of getting unproductively angry, we can all channel our energy into positive
solutions we are passionate about, to prevent future tragedies.
