Tag: mental illness

Transgender Man Charged for Alleged Threats to Kill, Rape Children

A man who identifies as female has been indicted on 14 felony counts after reportedly threatening to rape girls in public restrooms over “transphobia,” as well as commit a school shooting and kill children “on behalf” of the transgender community.

Alexia Willie, previously named Jason Lee Willie, was arrested on August 14 in Perry County, Illinois, after the FBI intercepted a livestream on social media, in which the trans individual was making a number of threats, according to multiple reports.

“A person in Tennessee walked into one of your schools and shot up a bunch of your Christian daughters. That’s not the last of them if you don’t shut your fucking mouth. Shut the fuck up out here, you understand me?” Willie said, according to court records filed on November 7.

“There’s a lot of transgenders out here that are tired of being picked on and we’re going to go into the schools and we’re going to kill their fucking children out here, and that’s the end of it. We’re at war,” Willie added.

Police also reportedly said that Willie was inspired by the transgender school shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, earlier this year, which left six people dead.

“I’m in the bathroom feeling your little girls’ pussies. I love feeling on your little girls’ pussies,” Willie continued in the livestream. “You can’t do nothing about it. I don’t care. I’m openly a pedophile. You guys can’t do nothing about us. You can cry. Put me on national television, I don’t care.”

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Blaming Mass Shootings on Mental Illness Doesn’t Address Either Issue

Since a gunman went on a rampage in Lewistown, Maine, killing 16 people, we’ve learned a few things about the shooter, Robert Card, who was found with a fatal self-inflicted gunshot wound after a two-day manhunt. A member of the Army Reserve, Card had recently been committed to a mental health facility after he reported hearing voices and threatened to shoot up the National Guard base in Saco, Maine.

Card’s mental health history has been central to reporting that laid out the lead-up to the deadliest mass shooting in the US this year. Questions of how Card was able to have access to guns, given his psychiatric hospitalization and documented concerns of family and soldiers in his reserve unit, drove much of the coverage. Lax gun laws that allow people like Card to slip through the cracks warrant interrogation, but the reality is that most mass shooters don’t have a mental health history like Card’s, nor is a record of mental illness a good predictor of gun violence.

Card’s ability to carry out this tragedy is a symptom of the gun violence crisis in the US, but the presence of his mental illness is not representative of the issue. In the vast majority of cases of mass violence, mental illness is not considered a primary factor. Attempting to rationalize the horrors of a mass shooting by emphasizing the perpetrator’s mental state does very little to address the larger issue at best, and leads to dangerous mental health stigma at worst.

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Cannibal Released From Connecticut Psych Ward Early For ‘Good Behavior’ Even Though He Told Psychiatrist He Wanted to Eat Her Flesh

Tyree Smith, a brain-eating cannibal was released from a Bridgeport, Connecticut psych ward 50 years earlier than his scheduled release date for ‘good behavior’ even though he previously told his psychiatrist he wanted to eat her flesh.

“Tyree Smith is an individual with a psychiatric illness requiring care, custody and treatment,” the board stated in its report this week. “Since his last hearing Tyree Smith has continued to demonstrate clinical stability. Mr. Smith is medication compliant, actively engaged in all recommended forms of treatment, and has been symptom-free for many years.”

Smith, who was 36 at the time, was sentenced to 60 years in a psych ward in September 2013 (effectively a life sentence) after a jury found him not guilty of murder by way of insanity.

In December 2011, Smith murdered a homeless man, Angel Gonzalez, mutilated his body and ate his brains and eyeballs.

A psychiatrist previously testified that Smith said he heard voices that told him to eat Gonzalez’s brains and eyes ‘to better understand human behavior’ and ‘to gain vision into the spiritual real.’. He also expressed his desire to consume her flesh.

Tyree Smith was released from the psych ward this week after the state board determined he has been ‘symptom-free’ for many years.

“He denied experiencing cravings but stated that if they were to arise, he would reach out to his hospital and community supports and providers,” the report stated, according to the CT Post.

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Study: Cannabis Exposure Not Associated with Increased Psychosis Risk Among High-Risk Youth

The use of cannabis doesn’t raise one’s risk of psychosis or other adverse health outcomes, even among adolescents who are at high risk for the disorder, according to longitudinal data published in the journal Psychiatry Research.

A team of researchers affiliated with Hofstra University in New York and with Stanford University in California assessed the relationship between cannabis use and health outcomes in a cohort of adolescents at clinical high risk for psychosis. Study participants were tracked for two years. 

Investigators reported that those subjects who consumed cannabis were no more likely than non-users to become psychotic. 

Authors concluded: [C]ontinuous cannabis use over 2-years of follow-up was not associated with an increased psychosis transition rate, and did not worsen clinical symptoms, functioning levels, or overall neurocognition …  indicating that CHR [clinical high risk] youngsters are not negatively impacted by cannabis. … These findings should be confirmed in future clinical trials with larger samples of cannabis using individuals.”

The findings are similar to those published in April in the journal Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences. That study also failed to identify cannabis use as a risk factor for psychosis in clinically at-risk subjects. The study’s authors concluded: “Our primary hypothesis was that cannabis use in CHR [clinically high risk] subjects would be associated with an increased rate of later transition to psychosis. However, there was no significant association with any measure of cannabis use. … These findings are not consistent with epidemiological data linking cannabis use to an increased risk of developing psychosis.” 

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Young People At Risk Of Psychosis Saw Symptoms ‘Surprisingly’ Improve With Marijuana Use, Study Finds

A new study of teens and young adults at risk of developing psychotic disorders found that regular marijuana use over a two-year period did not trigger early onset of symptoms—contrary to the claims of prohibitionists who argue that cannabis causes mental illness. In fact, it was associated with modest improvements in cognitive functioning and reduced use of other medications.

A team of researchers at Zucker Hillside Hospital, Stanford University School of Medicine, University of Michigan and University of California at Davis carried out the study, which was published Tuesday in the journal Psychiatry Research.

“Recreational cannabis use has recently gained considerable interest as an environmental risk factor that triggers the onset of psychosis,” the study authors wrote. “To date, however, the evidence that cannabis is associated with negative outcomes in individuals at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis is inconsistent.”

To investigate, the team tracked 210 CHR patients ages 12–25 who participated in an Early Detection and Intervention for the Prevention of Psychosis Program (EDIPPP). Over the course of two years, researchers compared the mental health and prescription medication usage of people who regularly consumed marijuana to non-users.

The study found that “continuous cannabis use over 2-years of follow-up was not associated with an increased psychosis transition rate, and did not worsen clinical symptoms, functioning levels, or overall neurocognition.”

“Nevertheless, our findings suggest that continuously using cannabis may be associated with slightly elevated, albeit non-significant, attenuated positive symptom levels relative to non-users,” the researchers said.

“CHR youth who continuously used cannabis had higher neurocognition and social functioning over time, and decreased medication usage, relative to non-users,” they reiterated. “Surprisingly, clinical symptoms improved over time despite the medication decreases.”

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Medical Marijuana Use Linked To Improved Quality Of Life And Better Job Performance For People With Neurological Disorders, New Study Finds

Medical marijuana use is associated with improved quality of life—including better job performance, sleep, appetite and energy—according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of West Attica in Greece published the study in the journal GeNeDis Neuroscientific Advances on Wednesday following an analysis of survey data from medical cannabis patients with neurological disorders.

“Medical cannabis has been used to relieve the symptoms of people with various chronic diseases,” the authors said. “Despite this, it has been stigmatized.”

The study showed that a majority (58 percent) of respondents said medical cannabis is an effective treatment for their condition.

Among that group, 96 percent said that marijuana decreased their symptoms, 88 percent said it improved their “ability to perform their professional duties,” 79 percent said it enhanced their sleep, 71 percent said it improved their appetite and 68 percent said it increased their energy and vitality.

“Our participants exhibited very few restrictions in activities due to emotional difficulties, a moderate general health status as well as moderate vitality and energy,” the study authors said. “Participants, who reported a longer period of receiving medical cannabis, reported statistically significant more energy and vitality, but also better mental and general health status.”

The clinical questionnaire and SF-36 Health Survey scale that respondents completed also asked about their openness about using cannabis for therapeutic purposes.

A strong majority (85 percent) of medical marijuana patients said that they’ve disclosed their use to family—and 93 percent said that they “enjoyed their support.” However, 81 percent said that they haven’t been open about their cannabis use in their “social environment” such as their workplace.

“Appropriate knowledge could significantly help health professionals in the field of planning and implementation of personalized nursing care in order to achieve optimal therapeutic outcomes,” the study concludes.

The findings are consistent with other recent research indicating that cannabis can play a role in improving general wellbeing.

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Psychoactive drug Psilocybin being studied for treatment of anorexia

Just a single dose of psilocybin was safe and tolerable for adult women with anorexia, according to a phase I open-label feasibility study.

After receiving a 25-mg dose of synthetic psilocybin given with therapist-delivered psychological support, none of the 10 participants experienced any significant changes in vital signs, ECGs, or suicidality during the week after dosing, reported Stephanie Knatz Peck, PhD, of the University of California San Diego, and colleagues.

Meeting the primary outcome, the treatment was also well-tolerated, with no serious adverse events reported amongst participants, who had an average body mass index (BMI) of 19.7, they noted in Nature Medicine.

As for changes in psychopathology — the secondary outcome of the early-stage trial — concerns about weight significantly decreased from baseline to 1 month after psilocybin treatment.

This improvement was also maintained up to 3 months after dosing. Likewise, shape concerns significantly dropped within the month after treatment, but this change was no longer significant at the 3-month mark.

Changes in eating concerns and dietary restraint didn’t reach statistical significance, but there was a trend towards an improvement in eating concerns at the 3-month follow-up.

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South Carolina found to violate rights of mentally ill in group homes

A federal investigation determined South Carolina violates the rights of mentally ill adults by placing them in overly restrictive group homes.

Some 2,000 people with serious mental illness were institutionalized in community residential care facilities, or what a report Thursday from the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice calls adult care homes.

The facilities have violated the rights of people with disabilities by limiting their choice and independence while offering few opportunities to engage in the community, the report states.

South Carolina failed to provide community-based services to all residents to divert them from adult care homes, investigators determined. Once a resident is placed in a facility, the state has denied them the resources they need to return to the community.

Some mentally ill residents have remained in the facilities for up to 35 years, the report states. The average resident spends five years in an adult care home.

Kimberly Tissot, president and CEO for Able SC, applauded the Justice Department for investigating what has been a longtime problem.

“We are hopeful this will bring true changes to people with psychiatric disabilities and other disabilities in South Carolina,” Tissot said in an email. “The unjustified segregation the disability community continues to experience in South Carolina must end today.”

Of the more than 400 adult care homes in the state that Tissot said she has evaluated, she found fewer than 15 were “somewhat decent and didn’t violate any rights.”

“CRCF’s conditions are appalling and make things more difficult for someone’s well-being,” Tissot added, using an abbreviation for community residential care facilities.

A spokesman for Governor Henry McMaster did not respond to a request for comment.

The Department of Justice said it launched the probe over a year ago after receiving a complaint. Investigators reviewed documents and conducted dozens of interviews with staff, state officials and residents.

In 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Olmstead v. L.C. that the Americans with Disabilities Act requires that people with disabilities be provided community-based services in the “least restrictive setting” possible. Unnecessary segregation created the assumption that disabled people were “incapable or unworthy of participating in community life,” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in the majority opinion.

By housing residents in adult care homes rather than less restrictive settings, investigators determined, South Carolina violated the ADA’s requirements.

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Is Long COVID Linked to Mental Illness?

Andrea Roberts was getting ready to submit a study for publication, and she was worried. A senior research scientist at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, she had just written a paper suggesting that people with high stress levels were more likely to develop long COVID after an acute infection.

Roberts has spent the past decade studying the link between physical health and mental health. She knows that psychology can play a role in almost any illness; a few years ago, she discovered a link between PTSD and ovarian cancer. On paper, the new finding was no different from those in her previous studies, but this time she added a disclaimer to her article. “Our results should not be misinterpreted as supporting a hypothesis that post–COVID-19 conditions are psychosomatic,” she wrote.

Her worries were not unfounded. The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association: Psychiatry on Sep. 7 of last year. A few days later, Jeremy Redfern, a member of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration, tweeted out the article and put “long COVID” in scare quotes. In the replies, people referred to long COVID as a “self-fulfilling prophecy” and “symptom of liberalism.”

Roberts had meant to convey with the disclaimer that long COVID is not a fake condition, and that patients experiencing it are not duping doctors or themselves (as Redfern implied they were). In doing so, however, she used the word “psychosomatic” to mean “fake.” But that’s not how “psychosomatic” is used in medicine, and she now has mixed feelings about the disclaimer. “The actual definition of psychosomatic is a connection between your psyche and your soma,” Roberts says—that is, your mind and your body. That connection can look like so-called “hysterical” blindness, where a traumatic experience causes someone to lose their sight without any apparent damage to their visual system, or like the well-known (and uncontroversial) relationship between stress and heart disease. Based on that technical definition, Roberts says what she’s showing in the long COVID study “is actually psychosomatic.”

No serious doctor would deny that the mind and body are intimately linked—many would even argue that it is meaningless to differentiate between the two, since the mind is really nothing more than the brain. But it wasn’t just the right-wing Floridians looking to minimize long COVID who responded to her results. Pieces by mainstream journalists have suggested that linking depression and long COVID is tantamount to accusing all long COVID sufferers of being malingerers.

As of yet, there is no conclusive proof that stress or mental illness can contribute to long COVID. But since Roberts’ paper, several other studies have found associations between post-COVID symptoms and mental illnesses like depression. None of this research proves that mental illness plays a role in causing long COVID—it might not play any direct role at all—but some experts see the connection as a promising path toward understanding, and treating, the condition. As long as the idea that mental illness is somehow less “real” than physical illness persists, however, investigating that link remains a risky proposition—both for the researchers, who might expose themselves to intense online criticism, and for the patients, who could see such studies weaponized against them.

“Being ‘real’ or not is a very false dichotomy,” says Tracy Vannorsdall, associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins. “And it doesn’t do our patients, or our scientific thinking, any good.”

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Allen, Texas mall shooter was removed from Army over mental health concerns: law enforcement sources

The suspect in Saturday’s mass shooting in Allen, Texas, has been identified as Mauricio Garcia, 33, a senior law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told CNN.

By the end of Saturday’s deadly rampage, eight people were killed and at least seven others were wounded from the massacre in the affluent suburb of Allen, about 25 miles north of Dallas.

In addition to the AR-15 style weapon found near him, Garcia had at least one other weapon on him when he was fatally shot in front of the mall, the source said. Police also found multiple weapons in his car.

CNN spoke with neighbors who witnessed FBI and police at a home of an address that matches Garcia’s parents Saturday night. They arrived there about an hour after the shooting and blocked off the street for several hours, neighbors said.

Garcia had been living in some form of transient lodging, according to the law enforcement source. Law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation told ABC News that preliminary information developed in the probe indicates that the shooter was in the U.S. Army in 2008 and was “removed due to mental health concerns.”

In addition to the insignia on the shooter’s equipment that suggested a right-wing extremist ideology, investigators have found social media accounts connected to the shooter that reveal hundreds of postings and images, including writings with racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist rhetoric, neo-Nazi material and material espousing the supremacy of the white race.

None of the subject’s postings analyzed to date were liked or shared by other users nor were there any public comments. The shooter’s account did not contain any friends or associates that were publicly visible.

Also, investigators have determined he had no criminal history and opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle. The shooter was equipped with a ballistic vest, numerous magazines and additional handguns.

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