As with other mass shootings, people around the country attempted to make sense of Loughner’s irrational act, asking questions such as: What could have motivated him to take so many innocent lives? Was he a political extremist? Was he a callous, psychopathic killer? Was he suicidal? Was he high on drugs? What was Loughner like before the shooting? Did he have a mental disordermental disorderpsychological symptoms or behavioral patterns that reflect an underlying psychobiological dysfunction; are associated with distress or disability; and are not merely an expectable response to common stressors or losses 1/2 on this page NEXT ? Were there warning signs that he was so dangerous? Could therapy or medication have helped Loughner? Could anything have prevented this tragedy?
I think this paragraph full of questions raises not only further questions in a psychopathological stance, but in mental illness education itself. Mental illnesses do not often appear abruptly with no warning or unusual signs (especially when they become violent). The passage continues on to express how difficult these questions are to answer, and while I think that is true, I can’t help but wonder if lack of attention to signs from surrounding parties is part of what allows people to get so far into undiagnosed mental illnesses. It also makes me wonder if it is feasible to get warning signs education to everybody.