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Crip Dyke's avatar

Okay, just because it has to be said, even though I hate to be the one saying it --

"Hearing voices" is not a risk factor for doing violence to yourself or others.

Schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, and other related conditions whose symtomology includes auditory hallucinations are not generally correlated with violence.

There's one subtype of a subtype in which normally unrelated delusions cooccur uneasily. The dangerous mashup is persecutory delusions with grandiose delusions. In literally every other case of delusional disorders a person with that disorder, once diagnosed, is actually less likely to commit violence than any member of the general public.

Professional psychiatrists and psychologists are fully aware of this dangerous duo. And this shooter may well have been manifesting this rare combination. I am not arguing that his mental illness was unrelated to his choice to kill. I do not have that information.

What I am saying is that most mass shooters assault and kill not out of mental illness but out of other sources of motivation, and connecting this unconscionable slaughter with delusional disorders generally isn't actually helpful.

The evidence says that people with delusional disorders are not a threat except in rare cases that are easily identifiable by mental health professionals. This guy saw those when he was hospitalized. If they should have taken further steps, we should eventually know that.

In the meantime, let's be clear that most people with delusional disorders withdraw from others and do not want to hurt people. They just want to be left alone. The don't even want to hurt themselves. They just want to be left alone. The only real risk there is that if they succeed in self isolating they might not get help that could be effective in improving their lives. That's it.

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Parakeetist's avatar

OT: Birb Uncle is in hospital. Second time in a few weeks.

Please spare a good thought.

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