"A Veteran is someone, who at one point in their life, wrote a blank check payable to the United States of America for an amount up to, and including, their life. That is beyond honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer remember that fact. Love a Veteran, and support the Troops!"

My mother, father, and step father are all veterans. Biological parents served in the air force, Step dad was Navy.

And we thank them all for their service

After serving, most are treated like crap!!! So many are suffering from "PTSD". The shooting in California is a prime example of this. The news allegedly reported that he was recently examined/seen by a doctor who saw some indicators without taking appropriate action. The VA need to be more accountable. The govt need to be more accountable. The armed services need to be more accountable. The mentality towards veterans need to change. Talk is cheap !!!!!!!

I agree 100% Mike. They deserve the best care ever

I agree, the exception was the California bar shooter, his coaches in high school said he had serious problems in high school. They told those in control of the school and nothing was done because they did not want to interfere with his chances of getting into the marines. What a mess up and there is more to the story with the recruiters that talked to him and his responses before he entered the marines which should have been another red flag. This could have been stopped if only someone along the way would have taken appropriate steps. Seem like people along the way in his life saw very clear signs that he had problems and did nothing. For some reason I have followed this story as it unfolded, guess it just caught my attention. Hope no one is offended by my response that is not my intention.

Betty the ball was dropped more than once on that one. So very sad.

Betty the facts is the facts. Nothing to be offended by.

A small majority of people enter the service, not to defend our country or to stand for something they believe it, but to "See the shit" as they say.

I think a big majority do it for various other reasons. Pride in their country, family history of serving in the military, looking for direction in life.

Either way, all military deserves the best care they can get. More so than any crooked politician.

Hazelcrestmikeb said: The news allegedly reported that he was recently examined/seen by a doctor who saw some indicators without taking appropriate action.

Mike I agree with your whole post. What troubles me the most is, if such a severely troubled person actually IS seeing a professional, and they are not misleading their healthcare provider in to thinking that things aren't as severe as they actually are (yes that happens), is that the professional doesn't take the responsibility of alerting law enforcement and families that their patient is on the brink of suicide and/or homicide. In these cases, and for court cases, the HIPPA Law can be breached. It's in the small print.

Additionally, a person may not have a support system or the support system has their heads up their behinds, as in the case of Andrea Yates, of Houston, TX, who drowned her five children in a bathtub. Not only did her doctors drop the ball, but her personal support system did, as well. *It's my understanding* that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and diagnosed with a mild form of schizophrenia. She had a history of postpartum depression after having children. Red flag!! The husband was ordered to monitor Andrea Yates around the clock, by her psychiatrist. Another red flag!!! The day of the killings, the husband left for work, and his mother was to go to the house an hour later, within which the drownings occurred. She thought she was saving her children from hell by killing them.

My own conclusion about the Andrea Yates case, is that she was severely suicidal and homicidal, so that's on her doctors to report it to law enforcement and the family. If she had schizophrenia, it was misdiagnosed. It was more severe than the diagnosis. There could be many reasons for that, though. Early on, when she was in and out of psychiatric facilities, she should have been committed perhaps, for the rest of her life, so her doctors did her, and her children, a terrible disservice that led to those homicides. Children's Services should have stepped in, when it was twice discovered that she stopped feeding one of her children, as a result of debilitation, in one form or another! AND the husband should have called work to let them know he'll be late and stayed with her until his mother arrived, and/or other family and friends could have stepped in, to never let her be alone for one minute!

So many sad stories of severely mentally ill people falling through their professional, and personal, support system cracks, and subsequently falling victim to their disease, and doing such horrific things, in one way or another. Then most likely, after the fact, it comes to light that the person actually had been in treatment, prior to the incident, and hindsight is 20/20, or they needed to see a doctor, but they weren't or quit, or they completely fooled their doctor, or, lastly, they and/or their friends and family don't recognize their mental illness, and chalk it up to their "normal" personality, therefore treatment isn't sought.

Mental illness truly is a disease of an imbalance in the brain chemistry, in one form or another, and one can't be expected to "snap out of it", just like a person with heart disease can't just snap out of that disease, either. If a person is not coming out of their state of depression within a reasonable period of time, that's when friends and family step in, especially if that person is not recognizing their own symptoms. Otherwise a mental downward spiral is imminent. It's not easy to recognize in people who are aware of their mental illness, bc they have to put on a "happy face", but take note of the small things, if a person is not in treatment. I am not implying that every person suffering with mental illness would go out and perform such horrific things, but, the MAJORITY of people who have done horrific things, turn out to have a professional diagnosis of mental illness, and have fallen through the cracks, in one way or another.

Betty I agree with you as well.

I am by no means an expert, but I am part of the mental illness community, in one way or another, and situations have compelled me to research mental illness for personal reasons. (If I am mistaken in any of my post, please correct me. )

It's sad....very truly heartbreaking in every way.

Mental health is a huge, largely unaddressed problem in the United States. So many more people suffer from it without going to the extreme end of harming others physically. Their families and friends suffer in other ways trying to deal with it. It can leave many emotional or physical scars that devastate families. There is no cure...only the very lucky can find a successful way to help control it.

May God Bless those with mental health issues in very special ways...and may those committed to helping them receive the blessings they need to be successful.

Agreed, Sharon. It can only be managed. I just took a course on depression in the workplace, and one out of 2 people, nationwide suffer from depression. CEO's have double the rate of depression, worldwide. Depression is in the top 3 major challenges in the workplace.

I agree. Mental illness affects a lot of people. I know it first hand with my girlfriend. She deals with
bi-polar, manic depressive, and some other issues as well. Makes life difficult sometimes.

I agree all. They need to do a better job of followup and we all need to be aware of what's happening with friends and family.

For anyone that has been following my mouse captures on other threads, here's the latest:

Another mouse caught in the basement
Latest scenario: Dog has been sleeping in the unfinished basement since day 1 and has her own loveseat and couch with a nice comfy throw on it that she's been sleeping on for several years. If we don't take her down soon enough she goes to the door because she wants to go to bed. We ALWAYS walk down with her and "tuck her in" Several days ago she came up in the morning and was acting funny. (The night before was when the mousetrap disappeared and we couldn't find anything. ) That night when we went to take her down she drug her feet and completely balked about it but finally was coaxed down. Next morning no problem. That night had to coax her down again and she was a little more stubborn (keep in mind she weighs 90 pounds ). For 3 nights straight we had to deal with this and her getting more stubborn each night.
Then we found the mouse in the trap under a chair right next to where she sleeps and wondered if she was hearing noises the first night that bothered her.
NOW she REFUSES to even go down to her bed at night and tuck tails and runs and jumps onto MY spot on the couch when it's time to go to bed The first night we let her stay up and left our bedroom door open. Several times in the night she put her paws on the bed and licked my face and I decided that wasn't going to work! Plus I couldn't sleep soundly because of the other day when she scratched my eye. So now she sleeps on MY spot on the couch or the floor and we keep the bedroom door closed! She is perfectly fine going to the basement during the day and follows me down there so it's not that she refuses to go to the basement
Just WHO does she think is the boss in this family - oh yea - I guess it's her

She got spooked

Our pets find a way of training us from time to time

Your forgot bulbs.