Army officer kills 12 at Ft. Hood, TX

[Flarecobra]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_fort_hood_shooting

An Army mental health professional has killed 12 at Fort Hood, TX today. 31 people have been wounded. MPs killed the gunman, and have arrested 2 others. More details will be released when the soldier's families have been notified.

EDIT: Apperentally they leaked the gunman's name. Army Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan. They're not sure yet as to motive.

[Tev]

I've been following this off and on today. This is really not the best way to start off November.

[Flarecobra]

UPDATE: FORT HOOD, Texas – A U.S. Army spokesman says the Fort Hood shootings suspect is alive and was not killed by authorities responding to the attack.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_fort_hood_shooting

[Bob The Mercenary]

Been also following this all day. The people who are taking the guy's last name and insinuating terrorism are going down an irresponsible and dangerous road. I hope they can restrain themselves until a full investigation is carried out.

My prayers are with the soldiers and their families.

[Eltargrim]

An Army mental health professional has killed 12 at Fort Hood, TX today.

Irony much?

But seriously, this underscores the need for all military, not just the US, to provide a better framework of support for their soldiers. War is traumatizing, and these people deserve help if they need it. From what I've been reading, they haven't been getting an awful lot of support (especially female veterans. The NYT had an article about it just the other day. The difference in how male and female veterans are treated is saddening).

[POS Industries]

Originally Posted by Eltargrim

But seriously, this underscores the need for all military, not just the US, to provide a better framework of support for their soldiers. War is traumatizing, and these people deserve help if they need it. From what I've been reading, they haven't been getting an awful lot of support (especially female veterans. The NYT had an article about it just the other day. The difference in how male and female veterans are treated is saddening).

On top of that, Ft. Hood has apparently never exactly been sunshine and gumdrops, even in peacetime. Back when my father was stationed there, suicides were an all-too-common occurrence. On one occasion, a friend of his came home to find his roommate had hung himself, which naturally made the man immediately ill. Upon running to the bathroom to vomit, he found his other roommate hanging there.

Granted, this was three decades ago, but if this most recent tragedy is any indication, we're really doing a piss poor job when it comes to the treatment of our soldiers and we have been for a very long time.

[Yumil]

Apparently he was going to be deployed within the week>.<

It's very scary when a psychiatrist breaks, but I have heard a small number of psychiatrists are predisposed towards it since they themselves have problems or have had problems>.<

[bluestarultor]

Originally Posted by Yumil

Apparently he was going to be deployed within the week>.<

It's very scary when a psychologist breaks, but I have heard a small number of psychiatrists are predisposed towards it since they themselves have problems or have had problems>.<

On top of that, they need to deal with everyone else's problems, which is probably more stressful for some than others. My brother is going into psychology and doesn't seem to realize he's not going to be given a magical "fix everything" wand. Psychologists, according to a friend of my mom's, spend a lot of their time just listening to people complain with no intention of fixing their own problems, or with people who expect the psychologist to fix their problems for them somehow who tend to rage quit when it doesn't happen.

[Nikose Tyris]

Originally Posted by bluestarultor

On top of that, they need to deal with everyone else's problems, which is probably more stressful for some than others. My brother is going into psychology and doesn't seem to realize he's not going to be given a magical "fix everything" wand. Psychologists, according to a friend of my mom's, spend a lot of their time just listening to people complain with no intention of fixing their own problems, or with people who expect the psychologist to fix their problems for them somehow who tend to rage quit when it doesn't happen.

Your mom's friend is mistaken, or had some shitty experience with Psychiatrists.

A Psychiatrist, or Sociologist, is given schooling on methods for coping with anger, grief, and a number of other painful emotions, and they help find outlets for those feelings. While there is no 'fix everything' wand, it's a career of helping others that I am still considering going back to school for. Not everyone can benefit from a sociologist, but anyone who's ever sat and just confided in someone, and felt better afterwards, can tell you there's a big benefit in the career.

[POS Industries]

Originally Posted by Nikose Tyris

Your mom's friend is mistaken, or had some shitty experience with Psychiatrists.

A Psychiatrist, or Sociologist, is given schooling on methods for coping with anger, grief, and a number of other painful emotions, and they help find outlets for those feelings. While there is no 'fix everything' wand, it's a career of helping others that I am still considering going back to school for. Not everyone can benefit from a sociologist, but anyone who's ever sat and just confided in someone, and felt better afterwards, can tell you there's a big benefit in the career.

Everything about this is wrong.

What you're describing is psychotherapy, which is different from psychiatry (a medical field that deals primarily with things like neurochemical disorders), sociology (which is the study of social interactions in communities), and psychology (which focuses on internalized behavioral functions). With the exception of sociology, these things tend to work hand-in-hand with the treatment of patients and naturally share some commonalities, but they are far from one and the same.