Intersection of suicide and mass homicide 

EDITOR’S NOTE — This column includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org

Though suicide and mass homicide are vastly different, where they share common ground is they both bring mass harm, (to oneself, others or both), and both are often connected to mental health. After the initial shock, hurt, and anger, it can be easier for family and public to shelve a hurtful and morbid subject, than it is to have these uncomfortable conversations. 

This also benefits psychotropic drug manufacturers in covering the trail of destruction their drugs are having on society when looking at the amount of suicides, and homicides (that are psychotic in nature) happening in our country. 

Currently there are approximately 60 million (1/5^th) of our population that are on psychotropic drugs, (many get these prescriptions from prescribers, not licensed in psychiatry). Are we mentally securing our society with this mass distribution and encouragement of being on psychotropic drugs, or are we fueling the fire we claim to be fighting? 

The CDC turned a blind eye to addictive opioid prescriptions, until after massive amounts of addiction and death. Are they doing it once again, except this time… psychotropic drugs? We see it in plain sight: school shootings, psychotic homicides and sadly, probably most families in our country have by now lost loved one(s) to suicide.   

September is National Suicide Prevention month, and instead of taking up this space with a lot of words, I wanted to share some timelines that are worrisome to look at because of their similarities. Warning: please be very careful if considering discontinuing antidepressants.