Finding Hope and Help in tragedy

Whenever a person with a mental disorder (or assumed to have a mental disorder), veteran or civilian, commits a violent act that makes headlines. There is a call to address the “mental health issue” in violent crimes. However, “what is meant by the mental health issue” is generally unclear. The fact is that killings and overall violence are extremely rare by people with serious mental illness. The vast majority of people, including veterans, with psychiatric disorders do not commit violent acts. Only about 5 percent of violence in the United States can be attributed to people with mental illness and most of these violent acts do not involve guns.