Free Republic

PROFESSOR: Zombies Are Popular Because People Have Given Up Hope Zombie popularity is a surefire indicator of national mental health, says Clemson University professor Sarah Lauro. Lauro, an English teacher who studied zombies while working on her doctorate, told the Associated Press that the rise of the "Zombie Walk," specifically, illustrates citizens' dissatisfaction with governments and life in general. "We are more interested in the zombie at times when as a culture we feel disempowered," Lauro told the AP. "And the facts are there that, when we are experiencing economic crises, the vast population is feeling disempowered. ... Either playing...

MIDDLETOWN — Lawmakers are considering a measure that would make Connecticut the first state in the nation to mandate universal mental health assessments for school-age children. Senate Bill 374 — one of several relating to mental health policy in the aftermath of the Newtown attack — would require all public schoolchildren in grades 6, 8, 10 and 12 to undergo a behavioral health screening. The law would also apply to home-schooled children ages 12, 14 and 17. It makes no mention of private or parochial school students. The assessments would be confidential, the bill says; the results would be shared...

The Obama administration issued a final rule on Wednesday defining “essential health benefits” that must be offered by most health insurance plans next year, and it said that 32 million people would gain access to coverage of mental health care as a result. The federal rule requires insurers to cover treatment of mental illnesses, behavioral disorders, drug addiction and alcohol abuse, and other conditions. Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, said that in addition to the millions who would gain access to mental health care, 30 million people who already have some mental health coverage will see...

Mindy McReady, the 37-year old country music star and mother of two, was found dead Sunday after an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

OREM —Striving for perfection may be driving some female members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to depression, one researcher says. Utah Valley University professor Kris Doty looked at depression among LDS women, finding that "toxic perfectionism" was one major factor of depression reported by the group. The other four factors, Doty found, were genetics, history of abuse, family relationships and feeling judged by others. Over a one-year period, Doty and her colleagues looked at clinically diagnosed depressed women who identified as LDS. Seven of the women were using multiple medications to treat their depression, 19 were...

”It was never a medical decision — and that’s why I think the action came so fast… It was a political move.” “That’s how far we’ve come in ten years. Now we even have the American Psychiatric Association running scared.” — Barbara Gittings, Pro-homosexual Activist Introduction Homosexuality advocates like to appeal to position statements published by American mental health organizations to fortify their bogus claims concerning homosexuality issues. One would expect such professional groups to be a reliable source of unbiased information on such matters and that their official positions would be based on the most up-to-date and scientifically sound...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — We're now hearing from Jacksonville's Sheriff about the Florida Sheriff's Association pledge not to uphold any unconstitutional legislation that restricts the Second Amendment. "You cannot legislate your way out of this problem," said John Rutherford. He sent out his own statement saying that he supported the proclamation, and says people need to realize it's not the trigger that's the problem, but the triggerman. "We've got to start having these discussions about this culture of death that we have created."

Vice President Biden says a mental health check on gun sales may have averted the 2007 mass shooting on Virginia Tech‘s campus. Biden’s comments came after a roundtable discussion in Richmond today that included experts involved with the gun control commission convened after the university tragedy.

People familiar with the internal negotiations say Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders have a tentative deal to enact the nation's first gun control measure following the Newtown, Conn., school shooting.

WASHINGTON (CBS DC) – The word “lunatic” will be stricken from federal law under legislation that passed the House by a vote of 398-1 on Wednesday. The congressional action is the most recent effort to eliminate language from the U.S. code that has become outdated or demeaning. Two years ago, Congress removed references in federal law to the term “mental retardation.” The only “no” vote was cast by Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, who said in a statement that, “not only should we not eliminate the word “lunatic” from federal law when the most pressing issue of the day is saving...

“From what I've been told, Adam was aware of her petitioning the court for conservatorship and (her) plans to have him committed," Flashman told FoxNews.com. "Adam was apparently very upset about this. He thought she just wanted to send him away. From what I understand, he was really, really angry. I think this could have been it, what set him off.” A senior law enforcement official involved in the investigation confirmed that Lanza's anger at his mother over plans for “his future mental health treatment” is being looked at as a possible motive for the deadly shooting. Flashman was told...

Exclusive: Barbara Simpson questions role of prescription meds in shootings The countdown had begun. Christmas Eve was just 10 days away. For the children, excitement was building, as it should. Then, in a burst of what can only be described as naked evil, it was over. What had begun as a normal school day took a turn no one could have anticipated or even imagined. Sandy Hook Elementary School, grades K through 4, in the quiet village of Newtown, Conn., became the target of a plot that was carried out with diabolical accuracy that turned classrooms into a charnel house....

President Obama said the federal government has to do something meaningful to prevent future shootings, like the recent massacre of 26 children and adults at a school in Newtown, Connecticut.  Here is what the federal government can do to prevent violence related to mental illness:1. Start demonstration projects of Assisted Outpatient Treatment (e.g. Kendra’s Law in New York, Laura’s Law in California) throughout the country. AOT allows courts to order individuals with mental illness to stay in treatment as a condition of living in the community. It is only applicable to the most seriously ill who have a history of violence, incarceration, or...

The dangers of allowing mentally distrurbed individuals to roam our streets should be common sense. The recent shooting in CT was proof of that contention. However, this advocacy group did not get the memo apparently.

Months before the Newtown massacre far left groups defeated a Connecticut mental health protections law. Counter Contempt reported: Here’s a fact you might not know – Connecticut is one of only SIX states in the U.S. that doesn’t have a type of “assisted outpatient treatment” (AOT) law (sometimes referred to as “involuntary outpatient treatment”). There’s no one standard for these types of laws, but (roughly speaking) these are laws that allow for people with mental illness to be forcibly treated BEFORE they commit a serious crime. Whereas previous legal standards held that the mentally ill cannot be institutionalized or medicated...

Ms Conte called the ordeal 'sad' for Lanza and his family, and suggested that the violence is a portion of a much larger situation. 'Guns are easy to point to, but it's really a mental health issue.'

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A south Charlotte psychiatric facility for teens is closing its doors in early February, leaving dozens of teens looking for new homes and 122 employees looking for new jobs. The Keys of Carolina officially notified the state this week that it was closing but has not said why. Eyewitness News uncovered it was facing a list of violations from the North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services and a $6,000 administrative fine, according to state officials, for violations of laws regarding the "protection from harm, abuse, neglect or exploitation" of patients. State officials said conditions in...

A Key West resident who police say was distraught over the presidential election results and worried about his business has apparently killed himself. Police say they found Henry Hamilton’s body in his bedroom Nov. 8, along with a living will with handwritten words “Do not revive! (expletive) Obama!” Two empty prescription empty pill bottles were in the dining room. …

Scientists are testing the idea that the stress of modern city life is a breeding ground for psychosis. In 1965, health authorities in Camberwell, a bustling quarter of London's southward sprawl, began an unusual tally. They started to keep case records for every person in the area who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder or any other psychiatric condition. Decades later, when psychiatrists looked... --snip-- Yet the results of his study, published last year in Nature (F. Lederbogen et al. Nature 474, 498–501; 2011), clearly showed that people who grow up in cities process negative emotions such as stress...

California Becomes First State In Nation To Ban ‘Gay Cure’ Therapy For Teens California state Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, sponsored the bill to ban a controversial form of psychotherapy aimed at making gay youth straight. By James Eng, NBC News California has become the first state in the nation to ban therapy that tries to turn gay teens straight. Gov. Jerry Brown announced Sunday that he has signed Senate Bill 1172, which prohibits children under age 18 from undergoing “sexual orientation change efforts.” The law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, prohibits state-licensed therapists from engaging in these practices with...