The tragic shooting at NIU on February 14th?!
Question: The shooter was a nice guy. He had been seeing a psychiatrist, and was on meds, but overall everyone says he was a level-headed, kind person who no one had reason to fear. He quit taking his medication (Prozac) because he was "tired of feeling like a zombie" (all of us on medication for depression/anxiety can relate). Doctors and the pharmaceutical industry claim that when people go off the medication, there is a surge of anger and/or depression due to the return of depression. The true reason people become erratic is because a person's chemistry is totally out of balance after taking anti-depressants for a given time, and so without the meds, the person can truly turn into an extremely out-of-control angry monster. The pharmaceutical industry and the medical profession need to look more closely into the realities of what these drugs do to us, and they need to better advise patients of the horrible consequences that could occur if they stop taking the drugs. Does anyone agree?
Answers: The shooter was a nice guy. He had been seeing a psychiatrist, and was on meds, but overall everyone says he was a level-headed, kind person who no one had reason to fear. He quit taking his medication (Prozac) because he was "tired of feeling like a zombie" (all of us on medication for depression/anxiety can relate). Doctors and the pharmaceutical industry claim that when people go off the medication, there is a surge of anger and/or depression due to the return of depression. The true reason people become erratic is because a person's chemistry is totally out of balance after taking anti-depressants for a given time, and so without the meds, the person can truly turn into an extremely out-of-control angry monster. The pharmaceutical industry and the medical profession need to look more closely into the realities of what these drugs do to us, and they need to better advise patients of the horrible consequences that could occur if they stop taking the drugs. Does anyone agree?
I agree. Sometimes when treating "simple depression" doctors are lax about communicating the seriousness of quitting meds too quickly.
I know that you are not saying that what he did was excusable. It may never be proven that the stopping of his meds is what triggered this horrific attack. One of the cruel realities that these grieving families must face is that there will be no sense ever made of the loss, no explanation of "why?".
We never know as we go through our day who around us needs that extra bit of attention, who around us has already given in to hopelessness or who is on the brink of losing it all.
Maybe people could stop depending on drugs and get a grip on reality and their life.
We must stop the sale of guns to anyone other than law enforcement
Yeah, we could put the blame on the pharmaceutical companies, OR we can just look at what this guy did. Many of us who have been clinically depressed, hospitalized, and what not, have not gone out and killed someone because we got off our meds. We can all also relate to not wanting to feel like a zombie. But we know right from wrong and know that it is wrong to take someone else with us! Something besides depression and bipolar HAD to be wrong with this guy. I'm bipolar, and I would not hurt a fly. Literally.
I ABSOLUTELY AGREE!!!...its a shame that we dope up our children to make them "behave"..instead of spending time with them and disciplining them. we let them sit in front of the damn TV all day watching everything from MTV to Jerry Springer, and playing video games killing at random, all the while listening to disgusting music promoting debauchery, and we wonder why some crack and go on a rampage...and then the libs blame it on an inanimate object , the gun...amazing stuff...
Yes, It is a shame. The shooter had gone off his meds on his own, from what I have read. I agree that the drug companies need to do more work on the side effects of their drugs, and the effects of quitting them "cold turkey".
As for stopping sales of guns to all but law enforcement, which one respondent suggested, that's an overly simplistic and incorrect solution. The vast majority of legal gun owners never use their weapons to commit a crime or even to defend themselves. It's been shown that criminals who want a gun will find a way to get one. A number of illegal firearms are smuggled in from outside the country.