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3 votes
Nov 21, 2015

This really isn't a fair question... in fact, we need to think about the reverse.

Most mentally ill people aren't a threat to others. In fact, mentally ill are far more likely to be victims than anything. I've known many mentally ill people, including two people with untreated schizophrenia, and I've yet to see any of them cause harm to others. I personally have been diagnosed with mental illness, and the primary cause of my own illnesses is abuse. The mentally ill are far more likely to come to harm than to cause it.

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0 votes,
Nov 23, 2015

This is a crucial point, but I do think the question deserves a direct answer.

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0 votes,
Nov 26, 2015

Well, then first we need to know, how often do mentally ill people actually pose a threat to others? Very rarely. How often do the mentally ill cause harm to others compared to everyone else? Less frequently.

The solution is actually simple. Most of the rare cases of mentally ill people harming others occur when they lose access to medication or treatment. The solution is making sure that people who need treatment have access to it. That they can get the medication and help they need. People who have problems taking medicine need an aide to make sure they get their medicine and go to their appointments. That's pretty much all it takes.

In short: make sure that people who need treatment and medication can get it.

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Nov 26, 2015

We actually don't need to know the first issue whatsoever. The scale of a problem is actually not terribly relevant to the merits of efforts to deal with that problem.

I agree that medication is, say, 95% of the solution. But is it practical to assume that, no matter how vigorous our mental health system or how complete our civic society buy-in, that there will never be untreated people? If so, what other approaches might we use to make sure that the mentally ill do not harm others?

I am sensing that you, like me, are very worried about efforts that would rob the mentally ill of autonomy, threaten their civil liberties, or harm them unduly. But then I think that priority should be said out loud.

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