So in the latest shooting at UCC has again sparked the National debate on gun control and Mental Illness.
Wonderful Donald Trump has found it necessary to not blame gun control but to blame Mental Illness alone!
See below:
In the wake of America's most recent mass shooting, Republican front-runner Donald Trump said, "It's not a gun problem, it's a mental illness problem."
In a one-on-one interview with Chuck Todd for "Meet the Press," Trump said he watched and understands President Obama's statement urging action to curb mass violence in the wake of the Oregon shooting. But he added, "Guns, no guns, doesn't matter. You have people that are mentally ill and they're going to come through the cracks and they're going to do things that people will not even believe are possible." Trump has previously iterated the message that mass shootings and gun violence are more the product of broken mental health systems than proof of the need for tighter gun control laws.
When asked why it seems these acts of mass violence are more prevalent in the United States than other countries, Trump responded, "I think what we have is we have copy cats. I think that they watch it and they see it here more than other places."
More from Chuck Todd's interview with Donald Trump will air Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."
I am all for the right to bare arms in our Country, to defend. Gun control works in this Country for the most part. Many have been stopped by the powers of gun control but now the issues are when they are stopped and declined the permit and the Government see's some reason in that person why are there no further questions asked? This person declined and for some reason is seeking a fire arm, and no one follows up?
Another issue with gun control is you can not control what is already out there in the public. Families have guns in there homes and accessibility is there and this has been proven over and over again in shootings across the Country.
Other Countries have bombings we have shootings by our own Countrymen. We are now so use to it, we see it in the news in a daily flash, say a pray and then spread only news about the person who did the shooting. We follow their lengthy news trial, even years down the road its still shown.
Everyday there are countless people lost in the rough streets in this Country. We are killing each other over drugs, money, clothes, cars, jewelry. Children are getting killed daily in the crossfires! Where is the daily up roar for these people lost? Do we not care?
There are children in the streets killed just going to school each day, gangs taking over stealing the youth from our Country.
IS this Mental Health related only? Is every person in a gang mentally Ill? To broadly give a statement that was done by Donald Trump is just childish and I beg him to contact me, let me speak in public on how I feel about Guns, Mental Health and lets see if he can keep up with me, a general person in the World living with a Mental health diagnosis, who has owned guns, who has guns in her home and has never taken to killing my fellow Country men or woman.
I do agree this Country has shut a blinds eye to the Mental Health issues, closed many doors and facilities to the Mentally Disabled who can not afford health care, even with the "GREAT" Obama Care" There is a need to fix our Health care system across the board. Let us not forget how many people in our Country with a Mental Illness are our Military and Ex-Military members. PTSD is a huge issue for many. Perfect Example was Chris Kyle's life lost to a person who clearly was having a Mental Health issue.
The system clearly failed and Chris Kyle, an American Hero. We is the cry for change in our Mental health system over his life lost.
Each day in America and other Countries in fact we loose lives of many to Suicide as well. Again, even the ones who do this horrific act are killing themselves immediately afterwards. The time is now to act in a positive way. NOT to just blanket blame as so conveniently Mr. Trump has done in his recent statements.
As a person who speaks and writes about Mental Health Awareness I am appalled by all the negative comments each time there is a shooting in this Country. Do I agree the person who did the shooting is clearly not all in their right mind? Of course, you would have to be blind to not believe that person had or has issues. Though with that said, we have to stop the generalization of all in the Mental Health community. It does nothing but tear down what so many have tried to build, such as myself.
I say to the Media as well, STOP glorifying the shooters. Even today in my City of Las Vegas, Nevada there was a Mother and her young son who were killed by a neighbor. He came into her home and killed her and took her son to his home, killing the boy and himself! Have you heard any out pour of news for this family?
Media wants to report the large shootings it is more news worthy as they like to put it, shame I say every life lost is news worthy!
The only way this will change is by us all standing together and make demands on changes on how we are handed our news.
We will only see things get worse I am afraid in our Country as the years go by us. We now have our children locked in the house, games, movies, texting, shopping, home schooling. The youth of the future will have no coping skills to deal with the harsh realty of the public when they do encounter others. We of the past ages were raised with the neighbor kids, outside, walking to school, playing on playgrounds. YES there was bullying and fights but we dealt with it right then and there for the most part. IT is not a new thing this bullying but what is new is the way children are handling or not handling it and even taking their own lives or the lives of others.
Is there an easy solution? NO and anything hard will not have things come easily. We are fools to think this will just go away because a Front runner wants to blanket accuse one specific group.
We as a community, a Mental Health Community need to stand together now before we loose the ability to have our rights because we are lumped into a broad blanket of accusations. We are not all murderers and I do not wish to be called one, to be worried by people I do not even know that I may kill them one day.
How do you think this will end for anyone who just is living their life and living the best they can with a Mental disability.
I say there are bad people in society with or without a Mental Health diagnosis. That should be our focus, to stop the murders of our own people. Can it be done? I honestly do not see it being rectified any time soon. We have been killing each other for centuries its just we are seeing different reasons or the lack of reasons now in the killings.
Let us talk about this, let us come to an understanding and stop the blanket accusations! I plead with you Mr Trump... and again I will be more then happy to debate these facts with any of you!
Sincerely,
Belinda Sue Kramer::: I am a mentally disabled person living in America!
‪#‎DonaldTrump‬ ‪#‎Obama‬ ‪#‎Mentalhealth‬ ‪#‎bipolar‬ ‪#‎meetthepress‬ ‪#‎BPD

Webcam video from August 21, 2015 11:13 AM (UTC)

Many times a week or even in a day I hear someone say the person they are with are Bipolar.  Is this a problem? of course not.  The problem comes in when after that statement is, my wife/husband/ etc is Bipolar and has so many things I can not deal with, they are crazy, they have no idea on how to handle their lives, I cant stand their Bipolar, etc.

We as the person having bipolar do not want to have this illness, we do not go out of our way to make your life more complicated.

Bipolar and Living Med Free Video Blog August 5, 2015 11:14 PM (UTC)

Negative Thoughts, always trying to overcome them!

Throughout our lives we come up with many names for ourselves.  In a normal mind most of the time these words are positive but in a mind of a Bipolar or Borderline Personality 90% of the time it is a negative slur.
We do not go out of our way to be negative it is how our mind works and when things get tough this is how we see ourselves, even when others may say differently.

As a child as far back as I can remember negative thoughts always had seemed to creep up into my daily thoughts with school work, friends even family.  I thought even back then so many things about myself were negative and did not know any different and most likely even thought back then this was normal.

While we are growing into our adult bodies there are so many changes as it is but when you add a mental illness into the mix and also not knowing you have this disability things are so difficult.
Hormones are making us crazy also and our mind just racing out of control and all the time we feel all of this is just our fault.

Negative thoughts are one of the hardest things to overcome and it can take many years to find the best ways to cope as individuals. 

No one likes to feel bad about themselves or ashamed so much that we do not want to ever leave the house.  We try to wake up each day and be positive but some days it is just not up to us.  Our mental illness seems to just take our mind and body and do with it as it pleases.  So many people think and will actual say, "why cant you just get up and be happy?" "why cant you just get dressed and do something for yourself?"  These negative comments by others do not do anyone any good and most people will not see them as a negative comment, they will see it as trying to motivate us but in fact they just do the opposite.

In our lives of being Bipolar we need to learn to cope daily with simple ideals.  Complicating our emotions will do no one any good.  We as individuals must find the best way to be more positive and that is so hard! I can honestly say this is one of the toughest things I deal with each and every day.

I am hard on myself about my body image, health issues, friends and the lack there of them, and so many other issues.  These are the thoughts that will race in my head each day.  Negative thoughts on why I am the way I am, why I do not have a lot of close family and friends.  How could I have pushed so many away and really never wanted to do so...

Our own thoughts are our worst enemy, we hurt ourselves and this is the last thing any of us want.. 

Determining if our lives will be happier is an outlook we search each day.

I want to say over the years this will subside and the negative thoughts with hard work will not be there but sadly that is not a fact with Bipolar, BPD or some other mental illnesses. 

What I can say with hard work, positive re-enforcement of family and friends we can learn to deal and turn those negative thoughts and patterns around at least one day at a time.

Just fight, find great coping skills, take each day as simple as you can and we will make it!

Telling the World you are Bipolar

In our lives there are moments that will define our future.  We must choose our battles carefully due to fear of rejection.

I decided in September of 2012 to come out publicly on being Bipolar.  I spoke of it generally on Facebook and then decided to open a page for discussion not knowing what would come of this page.

I named  my page: Bipolar and Living Med Free and also have a closed group for more private talk.  It has been a slow steady pace of work.  Such satisfaction is given by knowing you give others like yourself a place to speak to each other and to find connections, information needed.

Most seem to hide the fact they are Bipolar and its due to the lack of understanding in society as a whole. The stigma that goes along with Mental Illnesses. We hide in shame, as if we have personally done the world wrong in some way.

I believe now that the mental health community is strength in numbers.  Acknowledging who we are, what we have and NOT what people think we are as Bipolar or any other mental illness.

It takes years for a mental illness to really show its ugly self.  Very seldom do we come into this world so tainted by the effects of mental illness.

We grow into the dark as the years go by and this is where so many of us stay and are lost.  We need to help one another find our path back to the light of day.  It is not an easy road but it can be done.  To me it is about opening up, telling people about yourself, when and only if the time is right and you are 100% comfortable about opening up to that person.

There should be no shame or blame in having an illness.  Society has made all types of diseases and illnesses hard to be talked about, why is this?  No one is perfect, no one is without flaws so why can we not openly speak to family, friends about what is going on in our lives?

Fear of being shut down, left alone, made fun of, fired, hurt even abused is always in the mind of so many when they think about opening up about what they have been born with, not caught.

Until we as a whole learn to acknowledge differences in each other our World will be a closed place.

Reach out to your family members who have a mental illness such as Bipolar, a neighbor, friend.  We who have this are not the illness. We are caring, loving people who just want to show we are ok to be around.

Telling the world you are Bipolar is the hardest thing you will do and only take that step at your strongest.   Never letting anyone make you feel bad about who you are and what you bring to life.

You can not really live med free, so you will hear.

As a person who lives med free for my Bipolar since 2002, I often hear the statement, " You can not live med free for Bipolar" or "You are really not Bipolar if you can live med free".

These statements are mostly heard through the medical community.  Funny, these should be the people that would want to open their eyes and ears for other ways of living with a Mental Illness then being stuck on medications that have tons of side effects, that are highly addictive, and by no means cure a mental illness.

I have spoken many years of my life med free and I DO NOT tell a person that they can specifically live med free.  We are all made up with different chemical compounds and there is no way to tell how you will react to meds or react with out meds.

Life is hard for the "normal person" when things are thrown at you but add a mental illness and that will just add 10x the effects of how someone will act or react.

I found with my years of medicines for my Bipolar, I was lost.  I was never in control of my life and this is how they want us to live? In a fog, in a haze, no sex drive, no smiles on our faces, just a zombie in the mix of the World? 

They will say it takes adjustments to the meds and I do agree. There were moments I had good days, weeks but never longer then that. I saw in the mirror a different person all the time. Mood swings do not go away on the medicines they give you. Funny how they tell us they will diminish, not true.

Suicide on medicines are rarely discussed but without there are tons of statistics as such listed:

People with bipolar disorder are at great risk for suicide if they are not getting treatment. The National Mental Health Association reports that 30%-70% of suicide victims have suffered from a form of depression. Men commit almost 75% of suicides, even though twice as many women attempt suicide.acts about suicide are usually all listed as only when not on meds::

I myself attempted suicide at a higher level on the meds given the ever off. 

There are so many reasons to be med free and I will always support those on meds that it works for their life and chemistry.

We all have to learn what works best for us in all we do in our lives, not only for our medical issues.