Mental Distress

     By now you've heard of the murders of a celebrated Navy Sniper and another veteran, by a U.S. Marines vet who the sniper was trying to help with PTSD.
     The sniper had taken him to a firing range in Texas as part of his treatment. Police say he shot both men in the back, killing them. He faces two counts of capital murder.
     The double killing follows the murder of a bus driver near Dothan (still underway, with a little boy in danger) the Newtown Connecticut and The Colorado Theater killings.
     But maybe the tide is turning. The man who is the face of the NRA was even attacked by host Chris Wallace on FOX!
     Here a list of warning signs developed by the department of homeland security, which also determined that only 4 of the 29 incidents of mass shootings in recent years involved a veteran.

• Increased use of alcohol and/or illegal drugs.
• Unexplained increase in absenteeism; vague physical complaints.
• Noticeable decrease in attention to appearance and hygiene.
• Depression/withdrawal.
• Resistance and overreaction to changes in policy and procedures.
• Repeated violations of company policies.
• Increased severe mood swings.
• Noticeably unstable, emotional responses.
• Explosive outbursts of anger or rage without provocation.
• Suicidal; comments about “putting things in order.”
• Paranoid behavior or utterances (“Everybody is against me”).
• Increasingly talks of problems at home.
• Escalation of domestic problems into the workplace; talk of severe financial problems.
• Talk of previous incidents of violence.
• Empathy with individuals committing violence.
• Increase in unsolicited comments about firearms, other dangerous weapons and violent crimes.

[UPDATE; More on this topic from CNN on Monday 2-4-13]