World events, a psychological view – Page 46 – Inside The Mind of a Psychiatrist

“Yo Dumplin. I’m home,” I called, swaggering into our ranch house. I swaggered because my sidearm, a Colt 45, weighed heavy on my right hip and made me walk funny.

“My hero,” Dumplin said, smiling, and dressed in a black bustier and long white skirt. “100,000 followers tweeted that you brought down another paranoid psychotic who would have killed dozens if you hadn’t taken brave and immediate action.”

“Aw shucks, sweetie. It was just in a days work. If the ACLU hadn’t called me a psychiatric Neanderthal and sued me and the hospitals hadn’t released my patient after 24 hours I wouldn’t be a hero. It was just dumb luck. Timing is everything.”

“You are so brave. I made your favorite vittles, spaghetti in a light, Bolognese sauce and a glass of 2007 Pinot Noir.”

Actually none of this is really funny.

The Community Mental Health system, which was started in the sixties, only succeeded in closing our state hospitals and filling our streets with untreated schizophrenics, bipolar disorders and paranoid disorders. Most are peace abiding but there are a percentage who are obviously dangerous.

What just happened at Fitzgerald Mercy Hospital in Philadelphia is horrifying. A man with a history of violence shot his social worker in the head, killing her, and wounded his psychiatrist, Dr. Lee Silverman. Dr. Silverman was able to use his own weapon and wound the assailant, who was then disarmed by colleagues.

When questioned, the police chief said that, “without a doubt, I believe the doctor saved lives.”

So; should mental health professionals start packing?

Most of the time, no. The chances of us shooting ourselves is a lot higher than hitting an assailant.

On the other hand, if one works with dangerous felons, that’s a different story. Maybe small arms training isn’t such a bad idea. Dr. Silverman made the correct and courageous decision, saving his own life and the lives of his colleagues.

I’m just waiting for the hospital, the ACLU or the assailant’s family to sue Dr. Silverman because he broke hospital protocol and carried a weapon. Sometimes I have a lot of trouble figuring out who’s crazier, the patients’ we’re trying to help or the people trying to protect these same patients from our ministrations…

Art Smukler is an award-winning psychiatrist and author of Chasing Backwards, a psychological murder mystery, Skin Dance, a mystery, and The Man with a Microphone in his Ear. All are available as paperbacks and eBooks.

Children are often willful, out of control and want what they want when they want it. Trying to reason with a two-year-old is pointless. Firm, reasonable limits need to be set. Naturally, the child is enraged, but soon he understands that he can’t run into the street because he might get hit by a car, and he can’t punch his baby brother just because he wants to.

Our position in Iraq is somewhat similar to dealing with a two-year-old who refuses to listen. The US stance is that there must be a coalition government formed with both Sunnis and Shiites. Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki has refused and appears committed to a Shiite Iraqi leadership. What should we do?

The more all of us learn about this ancient Islamic conflict, the more we get how logic won’t prevail. And now Iran and Syria are supporting their new best friend, the Iraqi Shiites, to eliminate the Sunni insurgents. Oh, and aren’t we doing the same!

If reason won’t prevail, we should do what we’d do with a two-year-old. Set limits. Pull our advisors out of Iraq and let the prime minister, or whoever replaces him, do whatever he wants — but without us.

If we only knew how complicated the issue between the Muslim rival factions was, chances are we would have found another solution to the “weapons of mass destruction” other than invading Iraq. But, NOW WE KNOW! Let’s use this knowledge and not get any more soldiers killed or maimed for a cause that just won’t respond to reason.

If people are determined to die for their religious beliefs, the least we can do is stay out of the line of fire. Let’s get our own House (of Representatives and Senate) in order. We have our own out-of-control two-year-olds who won’t listen to reason.

Art Smukler is the award-winning psychiatrist and author of Chasing Backwards, a psychological murder mystery, Skin Dance, a mystery, and The Man with a Microphone in his Ear. All are available as paperbacks and eBooks.