THE majority of murders that take place in the Kingdom are committed by people who have deep-rooted psychological issues or a history of drug addiction, which is why many experts say leaving mental patients to roam the streets instead of committing them to a hospice can have major consequences.
Dr. Osama Al-Ne’aimi, a psychiatrist and addiction therapy consultant, says statistics reveal that a person with mental issues is not typically more violent than a criminal who does not have any mental problems. However, someone with mental issues can develop dangerous hallucinations that make him think others are trying to harm him or set him up, Al-Riyadh daily reported quoting the psychiatrist.
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Dr. Osama Al-Ne’aimi (L) and Dr. Samira Al-Ghamdi[/caption]
“Many people associate violence with mental disorders but this is wrong. There is no link at all. Statistics show that the majority of mental patients are not violent. However, some might get really violent if they do not get proper medical care,” he explained, adding that it all depends on the nature of the disease.
Patients who suffer from schizophrenia or bipolar disorders need immediate medical supervision in order to help them to cope with their disorders. Most of the time the disorders can be controlled and the element of danger can be eliminated. However, some who have personality disorders such as terrorists and killers are difficult to control and the patients themselves are not open to any kind of advice or are unresponsive to any attempts at helping them.
“Mental patients are not and should not be called criminals and everyone must realize this fact,” said Al-Ne’aimi.
Family role
Families can play a pivotal role in detecting a mental disorder early and by convincing the affected person to go see a specialist doctor but many fail to do so and remain in denial that their loved one is in need of urgent psychiatric help.
Ignoring a mental health issue always brings about a negative result. The people who end up suffering are the ones closest to the person — mothers, wives, brothers and fathers.
“All of them pay the price for the actions committed by their loved ones, something which could have been prevented had expert advice been sought out at an early stage,” Al-Ne’aimi said, while likening mental issues to the state of mind drug addicts who commit murders are in.
“Most drug addicts are not fully aware of what they have done. Drugs make it difficult for them to differentiate between reality and imagination, which is similar to what people with mental health issues experience,” he added.
According to Dr. Samira Al-Ghamdi, the head of education unit, Mental Health Department, Jeddah Health Affairs, social traditions are to be partly blamed for the negative stereotypes people have about mental patients visiting psychiatrists.
“If a family does not help its son who suffers from mental problems and prefers to send him out on the streets, who is going to take care of him? If the patient is treated as an outcast by society, he poses a great danger to that very society,” she said.
