Does mental illness cause people to commit crime?

Are crazy people responsible for tons of crimes?

Taken from: http://karisable.com/crmh.htm:

"Mentally ill patients are six times more likely to be murdered than the general population, researchers have found. The mentally ill also have higher death rates from suicide and accidental causes." There are so many people that commit suicide each year. According to the World Health Organization, almost 3,000 people commit suicide daily in the world. Suicide rate has increased by 60% over the past 50 years. In people ages 15-34, suicide is one of the top 3 causes of death.

Depression and anxiety are a torment and often cause people to feel low or hurt themselves, more so than others. I've know friends with schizophrenia who do not hurt others. In fact, a lot of people with mental illnesses are fearful of other people. And some mental illnesses can be brought on by extreme trauma and abuse. The most common one is PTSD. This stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and is very common in veterans. It used to be called shell shock before doctors changed it to PTSD.

On the other hand, any mental illness untreated could result in harm of oneself or another in some cases with certain disorders although most ones are being treated and you should not be rude to people who are being treated....So many people self medicate with drugs and alcohol. Many also go untreated. It is staggering to see how much mental illness can lead to incarceration. Nearly 500,000 mentally ill men and women are serving time in American jails, this is 10 times the amount of mentally ill people who are receiving treatment in hospitals. A PBS Front line Documentary calls this rise of imprisonment of the mentally ill in jails, The New Asylums. I find it upsetting when I often hear something in the news of a crime committed by someone mentally ill...because it could have been prevented most likely by treatment. As I say, the majority of mentally ill people hurt themselves. I know of a few people who are schizophrenic who deny they have an illness. This disease of schizophrenia is the trickiest of all because the mind denies it needs help, and it's hard to force someone to get help today and unpleasant of course.

Somehow mental illness is rising in America. Stress, lifestyle, breaking down of families could all be factors but more and more people are seeking help and that could be why psych hospitals today limit the stay of people -which can be good- but people may not receive the care and attention they need to get better and avoid coming back.

But don't let anything discourage you. You need to help yourself no matter what. Famous people have suffered from bipolar,depression,etc and they have led remarkable lives!

If you are spiritual, it can help deal. Many find that trusting in God and putting your troubles in Him--there's no other way I know of to sooth ourselves, after all we're only human! and life isn't easy for most! Take it One day at a time, and respect people of all kinds-

It is unfair though to stigmatize mentally ill people with labels for lots of reasons. One is that mental illness occurs to 1 in 4 people in their lifetime, and there is a steady rise of suicide as I've mentioned. We need to help not be problematic to the situation. Look at all the abuse that went on in hospitals, particularly state hospitals in the 1920s thru 1940s and even up till recently. Patients were abused by doctors and wards by electric shock treatment, labotomies, and restraints. Now we have jails full of mentally ill people and homeless people as well. What's the solution? Just as any person chooses to be good or bad, so the psychologically ill people choose to be treated or untreated. Try advocating that your loved one gets help if you see that they are having problems with being depressed.

There is a famous doctor, Dr. Peter Breggin, who wrote Toxic Psychiatry, amoung many other books. He is a renowned psychiatrist who advocates for people with disorders of the mind. He spoke of , in his younger years as a medical student, of going into (asylums at the time) and bringing women patients some makeup, and spending time talking to the patients. As a result, many were able to go home to their families because they were treated in this kind, human, respectful fashion. Why can't we do that to our young children and family and friends...try to be of help before they self destruct?

Oh what progress the Mental Health System has made for today! It's easy for someone to acquire a medicine for depression, bipolar, schzophrenia, or anxiety. Though they have some side effects, the positives outweigh the negatives and in many cases talk therapy can replace or assist the distribution of medicine.

I believe personally that in many cases, especially today, if families were stronger and closer and helped each other more, we would have less people commiting suicide and feeling so ill. Stress is a huge contributer to bipolar, depression and anxiety. Our fast paced life styles are just too stressful for most, and if we don't figure a way to relax, what is going to happen? Our lifestyle is not slowing down, it's daily getting faster...more and more fast paces. Students are stressed about grades, bullying in schools, parents divorcing, being accepted, looking like models on the cover of magazines, lack of exercise, eating more and more fast foods!!!!

I've met many people who suffer with different mental illnesses who are good people, who obey the laws, and who try hard to work.