Senator Deeds' son - religious fanatic?

[fun2beme]

Per an interview with Senator Creigh Deeds (VA), his son was becoming "fanatical" about religion prior to stabbing his father and taking his own life. It's a sad story and highlights several hot topics - mental illness (treatment and the lack thereof), religion, gun control, etc.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/20 ... ?hpt=hp_t2

LInk not broken because it's CNN.

[tropaka]

sounds like untreated schizophrenia....4 hours in that State for psych eval/hold? Ridiculous.

[gustava]

tropaka -- Apparently, the general opinion is that the situation was not handled well, but not because Creigh Deeds did anything wrong.

[Cleopatra7]

I suspect that the obsessiveness that accompanied Gus' mental illness made religion seem appealing. Keith Thomas' magisterial work, "Religion and the Decline of Magic" notes that Puritans in Jacoban England were the group most likely to complain of demonic possession. The kind of people who were attracted to Puritanism seemed to be predisposed to being anxious and OCD. A fixation on rigid religious practices would feed into Gus' schizophrenic or manic tendencies.

[SamuraiKatz]

The mental health care system in this country is broken beyond repair. The police/jail have become the United States Mental health providers. Families suffer with all sorts of out of control psychotic, violent, bizarre behavior and are left with no real resources, no hospital beds, no respite, no help until there is a suicide attempt, physical assault or murder.. Then when it comes down to an assault or a killing the "justice" system is involved and your family member is still not getting the help that he or she needs. I've lived this with one of my children. Sorry for rambling, this one just hits awfully close to home.

ETA: My family member needed hospitalization last fall. There were no psychiatric beds available in Washington and Benton counties. The closest facility that could take her was in Russellville...a two plus hour drive away. I lost a week of work taking her to daily meetings at her psychiatrists office.. The rest of the time was suicide watch divided between me and other family members. Anything that she could possibly have hurt herself with was locked up. That week was hell on earth.

[bionicmlle]

I saw the interview with Senator Deeds last night and it was heartbreaking. I didn't hear a tale of a religious fanatic but of a very ill young man with delusional thoughts and a lot of fear. I think we could all act the same way if we TRULY BELIEVED someone was trying to harm us and no one was listening in the way we wanted. How scary for his son and obviously terrifying for his father.

[Rachel333]

ETA: My family member needed hospitalization last fall. There were no psychiatric beds available in Washington and Benton counties. The closest facility that could take her was in Russellville...a two plus hour drive away. I lost a week of work taking her to daily meetings at her psychiatrists office.. The rest of the time was suicide watch divided between me and other family members. Anything that she could possibly have hurt herself with was locked up. That week was hell on earth.

Holy shit, really? There's one in Fayetteville that I, uh, spent some time in and since they opened a second adult unit (I'm sure adolescent beds are harder to come by, though) a year ago it was pretty empty. I'm not surprised that it has changed, though; there's a huge need for psychiatric beds all over the country. I met a woman who had to spend four days in the ER a few weeks ago before she got into a psych hospital because every single one in the area was completely full.

I saw the interview with Senator Deeds last night and it was heartbreaking. I didn't hear a tale of a religious fanatic but of a very ill young man with delusional thoughts and a lot of fear. I think we could all act the same way if we TRULY BELIEVED someone was trying to harm us and no one was listening in the way we wanted. How scary for his son and obviously terrifying for his father.

I think this is very true. I think often there's a lot more compassion for the family members of people with psychiatric issues than for the people themselves, and I know it has to be really awful to have a family member with a condition like that and those families need a lot of support, but the mind of a severely psychotic/delusional person would be absolutely terrifying to live in.

[SamuraiKatz]

Holy shit, really? There's one in Fayetteville that I, uh, spent some time in and since they opened a second adult unit (I'm sure adolescent beds are harder to come by, though) a year ago it was pretty empty. I'm not surprised that it has changed, though; there's a huge need for psychiatric beds all over the country. I met a woman who had to spend four days in the ER a few weeks ago before she got into a psych hospital because every single one in the area was completely full..

[Rachel333]

My child has a dual diagnosis Autism and Bipolar I. Northwest Medical didn't have a bed at the time. Charter or whatever they are calling themselves now wouldn't take her due to the Autism part of the diagnosis. Decision point works with people who have substance abuse problems along with addiction problems. Springwoods didn't have a program for because she was over 18. I know and understand exactly what Creigh Deeds is going through. My heart goes out to him and his family. I do not know what will happen if this happens again. I am not a mental health professional.

[SamuraiKatz]

That's really tough. There is definitely a huge need for programs that address dual-diagnosis. I know it can be really difficult for families once the family member turns 18, too, because there's often less help available and if the person doesn't want help there's nothing you can do until they're about to kill themselves or somebody else. The system desperately needs fixed.

[tropaka]

@Gustava - I was commenting on the lack of adequate care, not about anything Mr. Deeds' did; he did all he could and actually more than many (the stigma prevents a lot of people from getting help). I am lucky that our city has a lot of resources for the acutely, ill, at least (i.e. immediate situations), but having gone through months/years of trying to get one of my teenaged sons help has been frustratingly slow.

[Rachel333]

I do have one tool in my arsenal that Mr. Deeds did not. I was appointed my adult child's guardian because of the Autism. She can't not refuse treatment. I am not going to live forever, so that isn't going to be a permanent life long solution. :x

Oh good. Maybe not a permanent solution, but that's definitely a good thing to have now.

[gustava]

@Gustava - I was commenting on the lack of adequate care, not about anything Mr. Deeds' did; he did all he could and actually more than many (the stigma prevents a lot of people from getting help). I am lucky that our city has a lot of resources for the acutely, ill, at least (i.e. immediate situations), but having gone through months/years of trying to get one of my teenaged sons help has been frustratingly slow.

Thanks tropaka. I didn't really hear criticism, but wanted to clarify just in case. IIRC, which I may not, there actually was a bed available but somehow it was overlooked.

[SamuraiKatz]

Thanks tropaka. I didn't really hear criticism, but wanted to clarify just in case. IIRC, which I may not, there actually was a bed available but somehow it was overlooked.

If there was a bed available, then someone's head should roll for not getting this young man the help he needed.

[SamuraiKatz]

@Gustava - I was commenting on the lack of adequate care, not about anything Mr. Deeds' did; he did all he could and actually more than many (the stigma prevents a lot of people from getting help). I am lucky that our city has a lot of resources for the acutely, ill, at least (i.e. immediate situations), but having gone through months/years of trying to get one of my teenaged sons help has been frustratingly slow.

Tropaka I'm sending good thoughts your way. I hope you find the help your son needs...

[fun2beme]

Just to clarify - I agree that his increasing religious convictions were likely related to his worsening mental condition, that it was an "outlet" so to speak. I followed this story because it's semi-local (I'm in Maryland) and covers so many relevant issues, including some I've dealt with on a personal level.

I'm glad his father is open about this and not sweeping his son's history under the rug. My heart goes out to the senator for so many reasons. I sometimes fall into the mindset that money and influence can give one better treatment, but this case sadly proves that it's not true. I hope Mr. Deeds has the strength to continue to seek to reform mental health care.