Mental Illness Has Almost No Correlation to Violence
The stereotype versus the tragic and ironic reality
Mental disorders continue to be something that most people do not understand very well, primarily due to a lack of effective public education on the matter.
“Crazy people are dangerous, so you should stay away from them.” This is the most common approach to those suffering from maladies of the mind. Suspicion and ostracization. But is it actually true? Does up-to-date data confirm that the mentally ill are doomed to commit violent acts?
No.
Let’s delve into the age old assumption of “insane equals violent” and explore just how inaccurate that widely held belief truly is.
Not All Mentally Ill People Are Violent
The key word here, of course, is “all.” Any kind of person can be violent, and those with unbalanced brain chemistry aren’t any different. Before anyone allows that admission to confirm their bias, answer this question: what is the difference between .8% and 2.9%?
According to the American Psychological Association, one study found it to be the difference between the amount of physical violence committed by people with no mental illness versus people with a profound mental illness.
In a sample size of 34,653 people, .8% of the mentally sound among them committed violent crimes in a span of 2–4 years. Comparatively, 2.9% of those with severe conditions such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder wound up doing the same.
What is the difference between .8% and 2.9%?…If you’ve ever heard that mentally ill people have a slightly higher rate of reported incidents of violence, that’s just how slight it is.
To fully comprehend the meaning of those numbers, let’s do a visualization exercise: imagine you are in a large room with 100 people who are all perfectly mentally stable. According to this data, it is statistically likely that at least one person in that room will commit a violent act in the next few years.
Now imagine entering a second room with a different group of 100 people, all of whom are suffering from some kind of mental disorder. In this new room, the number of probable assailants only increases by, at most, two.
If you’ve ever heard that mentally ill people have a slightly higher rate of reported incidents of violence, that’s just how slight it is. This specific example is based on just one study, of course, but other recent studies have yielded similar results.
Though some (generally older) reports may have recorded higher rates, the fact that these numbers are as low as they are in newer and more refined investigations indicates that the key variables of these incidents are not the mental disorders themselves.
Environmental Factors
Those suffering from mental illnesses often find themselves struggling to meet even their most basic needs thanks to prejudice and discrimination. Because of the harsh stigmas surrounding them, they are frequently denied the opportunity to establish or advance any sort of sustainable career.
Lack of a living wage can lead to hunger, homelessness, and an inability to access the medicine and counseling needed to manage special conditions. Physical ailments become virtually unavoidable, which only serve to worsen mental functions that were already impaired. All of this can lead to irritability, worsening hallucinations, and prolonged paranoia. These, in turn, increase the likelihood of an otherwise peaceful person lashing out or generally behaving in a way that unnerves those around them.
Compounding things further, many mentally ill people find themselves trying to self-medicate by turning to substances like alcohol in order to cope with their symptoms.
Compounding things further, many mentally ill people find themselves trying to self-medicate by turning to substances like alcohol in order to cope with their symptoms. A bottle of whiskey is, shockingly, much cheaper than a one month supply of most antipsychotic medications. If one is already struggling with poverty, $22 to drown out the voices is a lot easier to achieve than $190-$1,415 (in the U.S., depending on the brand and whether or not one has insurance.) That’s not including the cost of seeing a doctor several times just to get the proper diagnosis and prescription in the first place, either. As result, even multiple bottles of alcohol could still prove to be more accessible than proper care.
Unfortunately, substance abuse has a well documented tendency to drastically increase the likelihood of violent outbursts from any person, sound of mind or not. When better balms to their severe symptoms are more difficult to access discretely than recreational drugs, it can funnel the mentally ill into developing these detrimental co-morbid dependencies.
Interpersonal Struggles
People dealing with hallucinations, mania, or even generalized anxiety often find themselves avoided by some and bullied by others. Having no reliable support system can result in additional hurdles to accessing necessary care. In addition, being repeatedly antagonized creates strain and fear which can lead to the activation of the sympathetic nervous system and trigger the “fight” acute stress response (but also flight, fawn, and freeze.)
Even in cases where a person manages to hold down a job and meet their financial obligations and basic physical needs, the isolation and mistreatment they so often face can chip away at their well being.
Being repeatedly antagonized creates strain and fear which can lead to the activation of the sympathetic nervous system and trigger the “fight” acute stress response (but also flight, fawn, and freeze.)
The threat of judgment, rejection, and cruelty looms over the mentally ill so ever presently that many attempt to protect themselves by self-isolating. Some do this by keeping their condition a secret and trying to deal with it alone. Some hesitate to establish deeper connections with others at all.
Even when friends and family are trying their best to be helpful and understanding, it can quickly become overwhelming to all involved. Because public education doesn’t equip the average person to care for those suffering from mental disorders, loved ones must seek necessary training on their own. Adequate community resources are lacking in most areas, if they are available at all. Ever mounting costs of care can create financial strain and fatigue, which can lead to interpersonal conflict.
Villainization and Victimization
From lobotomies, to overmedication, to unnecessary imprisonment, the mutilation, neglect, and mishandling of the mentally ill has marred human history.
According to a Treatment Advocacy Center report, people with untreated mental illnesses are 16 times more likely to be killed during confrontations with the police. Officers (like most others) are not properly trained to respond to a mental health crisis, and often escalate situations or neglect to attempt de-escalating them before using deadly force. These incidents are all the more likely to happen because mental health response teams are underfunded or completely non-present in many areas. Even where they are available, most people don’t know they exist or how to contact them when they witness someone having a breakdown.
Isolation and desperation also make those with mental disorders easy prey for opportunistic abusers, both familial and found. When a mentally ill person tries to speak out about their mistreatment, it often isn’t hard for the perpetrator to convince others that crimes were merely imagined. Difficulty achieving financial independence and maintaining social connections also means difficulty escaping predators on whom they have come to rely for what little shelter and comfort they can get.
When a mentally ill person tries to speak out about their mistreatment, it often isn’t hard for the perpetrator to convince others that crimes were merely imagined.
According to the American Association of Suicidology, people with major depression are at risk for suicide 20 times more than most people. Considering the fractional amount of mentally ill people who commit violent crimes against others, this means that people with major depression are much more likely to hurt themselves than to hurt anyone else.
Despite popular media so often depicting the mentally unstable as being characteristically harmful towards other people, the majority of them are not violent and the majority of violent criminals are not among them. Though the rate of violence from those with mental disorders is marginally higher than other demographics, these people constitute an overall minority of the human population. So, while the popular assumption is that all violent criminals must be mentally ill, the overwhelming majority of assailants are, in truth, medically sound of mind.
The greatest and most tragic irony of the assumption that the mentally ill should be treated as a potential source of violence is that they are, themselves, eleven times more likely than the average person to be the victims of violence.
Balancing Compassion With Awareness
To reiterate: the statistical likelihood of a severely mentally disturbed person committing an act of violence is only a tad bit higher than someone we would consider sane. Taking into account all of the ways in which those with these kinds of disorders are systematically discriminated against, distressed, and blocked from proper care, it is reasonable to conclude that this tiny increase is far more attributable to their circumstances than to their mental health condition.
Am I arguing that you should force yourself to let your guard down around a mentally ill person (or any person) who is acting in a way that indicates they are a genuine threat to you?
No.
Humans are humans, any kind of human can be dangerous, and we all have a right to look after our own safety. If someone seems to be following you, trying to corner you, invading your personal space, trying to find out where you live or work when they barely know you, accusing you of things you did not do, or anything else of this nature, then measures of self protection are fully warranted.
The greatest and most tragic irony of the assumption that the mentally ill should be treated as a potential source of violence is that they are, themselves, eleven times more likely than the average person to be the victims of violence.
You should also be wary of those who attempt to use mental illness as a “get out of jail free” card for abusive behavior. Many of these individuals, whether genuinely affected or simply malingering, prey on others’ compassion and lack of knowledge about how their claimed condition affects their culpability.
What I am arguing, however, is that we as a society need to work harder to abolish the systemic sabotage of the truly mentally unwell.
Even those who lack compassion must agree that this is the most logical course of action, as it will reduce the number of people whose conditions worsen until they reach a breaking point.
We need better initiatives to educate people about these disorders, better mental health services provided at no or at least reduced costs, more informed and responsible representation in media, better community support, and more efforts to help severely impaired people to establish and sustain healthy social connections.
Having different challenges does not warrant being shunned, beaten, or caged. We must not continue to treat the mentally ill as if they have committed a crime simply by existing.
One way to contribute to the pursuit of these goals is by supporting organizations like the National Alliance on Mental Illness, an advocacy group which aims to improve people’s lives by getting them and their families access to care as well as educating the broader public on these issues.
It would also be beneficial to familiarize yourself with local homelessness, addiction, and mental health resources so you can call on the nearest, most appropriate response teams in the event that you witness someone in crisis. Spread the word and encourage others to do the same, keeping your own safety in mind at all times as well.
Looking Forward
In an age where illnesses like anxiety and depression are on the rise, we need to get over our collective lack of empathy and knowledge regarding mental health.
Having different challenges does not warrant being shunned, beaten, or caged. We must not continue to treat the mentally ill as if they have committed a crime simply by existing.
Needing medicine does not make one a monster.
It is not a sin to be unwell.
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