670 ("One need not be a Chamber—to be Haunted—")
by Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

One need not be a Chamber—to be Haunted—
One need not be a House—
The Brain has Corridors—surpassing
Material Place—

Far safer, of a Midnight Meeting
External Ghost
Than its interior Confronting—
That Cooler Host.

Far safer, through an Abbey gallop,
The Stones a'chase—
Than Unarmed, one's a'self encounter—
In lonesome Place—

Ourself behind ourself, concealed—
Should startle most—
Assassin hid in our Apartment
Be Horror's least.

The Body—borrows a Revolver—
He bolts the Door—
O'erlooking a superior spectre—
Or More—

Tags: Emily Dickinson, poetry

I am stunned by yet another mass shooting by the young man who carried out the South Carolina church massacre. For months he had confided in friends of his intent to perform some heinous act; he not only mentioned killing individuals in a church, but in other locations such as a school.
The question again is “Could this have been prevented?”

As has been reiterated again and again, the majority of individuals with ANY mental illness are more likely to be victims of crime not perpetrators of violence. Situations such as these fall into a very specific category with their own unique characteristics; there are clear warning signs.

Dylann Roof, in my opinion, is yet another example (such as Lanza, Roger, Holmes, and others) who were clearly “disturbed” individuals -- I am not clear on how they would be diagnosed, but they were clearly not thinking logically. This does not excuse these heinous acts and these individuals should all be prosecuted to the full extent of the law for murder.

I am very concerned Roof’s friends did not report his constant hateful rants and his statements indicating plans for a spree of this type. We all should be encouraged to do so.

Per an article in the Washington Post:

Justin and Jacob Meek, as well as Christon Scriven, 22, a neighbor who is African American, said Roof never struck them as racist but sometimes talked about violence. “I don’t think he hated blacks,” Scriven said. “I think he hated humans.”

When they were drinking one night recently, Scriven said, Roof talked about shooting up a school. Another time, he spoke of going on a shooting spree at the College of Charleston.
“My reaction at the time was, ‘You’re just talking crazy,’ ” Scriven said. “I don’t think he’s always there.” [End statement]
______________________________

When a young male, a loner of a young age (Roof is 21), whose life path went off-track in 9th grade, who was unemployed, who was obsessed with racism (the theme of his rage), who had no close friends or any constructive relationship with his family, expresses himself this way WE NEED TO TAKE NOTICE AND WE NEED TO TAKE ACTION. We need to take these threats seriously. Since human behavior is so difficult to predict there is no way to know if this violence could have been averted, but maybe, had his friends spoken up, maybe this horror could have been prevented. This is certainly not their fault, however, we need to spread awareness on the topic.

Here is a very touching article by the mother of one of the children murdered in the Sandy Hook massacre. She also notes … Read The Full Article Here

By Nicole Hockley June 23 at 7:04 AM
Nicole Hockley is the Managing Director of Sandy Hook Promise.


“While the motives for this hate crime may be very different from the crime that took my son from me, there are similarities. Access to firearms. Mental health issues. Ignored signs that violence was imminent. And the destruction of yet another seemingly safe place.
...
In 70 percent of all gun violence acts (including suicides), at least one other person was told an act of violence would be committed. We need to educate ourselves, and our children about the warning signs. And we need to train ourselves to reach out to trusted adults when we hear or see threats.
...
We are failing to deal with the toxic combination that we see in acts of violence. Sometimes it’s irrational fear, hatred and racism. But for many Americans who lack the skills to cope with stress and anger, or for the very few with severe mental illness, easy access to a firearm leads to tragic loss.”
… [End statement]
_____________________________________
May all the victims of such violence Rest In Peace. We have many issues to address including virulent racism in this country, but this story is unique and multifaceted.

Tags: violence, violent children, charleston, speak up, Dylann Roof, lanza, roger, holmes, loughner

Here is an encouraging update in understanding depersonalization -- in this case as a subtype of PTSD; PTSD is an anxiety disorder and as I have always suspected, DP/DR belong under the category of Anxiety Disorders, not Dissociative Disorders.

This article may also someone explain the use of the unofficial diagnosis of “complex PTSD” which is attributed to childhood abuse.
- Sandy -

Altered Circuits May Cause ‘Out-Of-Body’ Symptoms in Some People with PTSD <--- Click Here for full article.

Margaret McKinnon, Ph.D.
May 5, 1015
For some people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), symptoms go beyond the flashbacks, nightmares, sleeplessness, and tense feelings that trouble many. Up to 30 percent of people with PTSD also suffer from symptoms known as depersonalization and de-realization––that is, they experience “out-of-body” episodes or feelings that the world is not real. These disturbances to awareness and consciousness are known as dissociation.

New research now reveals that brain circuits involved in fear processing are wired differently in these people than in others diagnosed with PTSD. The findings, reported in Neuropsychopharmacology, suggest that such patients need different treatment options.

PTSD with dissociation is recognized as a distinct subtype of the disorder. It is most common among people whose PTSD developed after repeated traumas or childhood adversity. Genetic factors can also increase the risk of developing PTSD with dissociation.

Studies have found that reminders of traumatic events trigger different patterns of neural activity in patients with dissociative PTSD than they do in people who have PTSD without dissociation. In both groups, emotion-regulating brain circuits are thought to be disrupted. Emotional responses are undermodulated (under-regulated, or controlled) by the brain in most people with PTSD, causing them to relive traumatic events and experience hyperarousal symptoms such as being easily startled. In people with the dissociative subtype of PTSD, in contrast, emotional responses are overmodulated (over-regulated) by the brain, leading to emotional detachment and the subtype's characteristic feelings of depersonalization and derealization.

Senior author Ruth Lanius, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Western Ontario led a team of scientists that included two-time (2007 and 2009) NARSAD Young Investigator grantee Margaret McKinnon, Ph.D., of McMaster University in Ontario. The scientists used functional magnetic resonance imaging to compare activity in the brains of 49 people with PTSD, 13 of whom had been diagnosed with the dissociative subtype of the disorder. Their study also included 40 people without PTSD.

The researchers focused their analysis on parts of the brain that connect to the amygdala, a small structure deep in the brain that is involved in emotion and fear processing. They examined connections to two parts of the amygdala: the basolateral amygdala, which evaluates sensory information and helps integrate emotions, and the centromedial amygdala, which helps execute fear responses.

They found that in the brains of patients with the dissociative subtype of PTSD, the amygdala was more strongly connected to brain regions involved in consciousness, awareness, emotional regulation, and proprioception (the sense of body position) than it was in PTSD patients without the dissociative subtype. The researchers say that patients' dissociative symptoms may be directly related to these alterations in the brain's functional circuitry.

Tags: ptsd, ptsd subgroup