SARA NILES. Author and Social Media Influencer. Books, Essays, Social Awareness The lives we live determine our passions, and our passions impact the lives we live, in a dynamic, reciprocal pattern. My Life inspired me to write Memoirs: TORN From the Inside Out, The Journey, Out of the Maelstrom, Essays, Opinion Editorials, and social narratives that shed light during dark times.
The TORN Episodes
The Plague of 'The Narcissists' is Global
The term 'Narcissist is not new, nor is the behavior, because pathologically selfish people existed in every phase of human history fro...
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Monday, November 2, 2015
Domestic War: More domestic violence homicides in America than war casualties
"The number of American troops killed in Afghanistan and Iraq between 2001 and 2012 was 6,488. The number of American women who were murdered by current or ex male partners during that time was 11,766. That's nearly double the amount of casualties lost during war. "
Quoted from The Huffington Post
Quoted from The Huffington Post
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
What is the Relationship Between Mental Illness and Mass Killings
What is the Relationship Between Mental Illness and Mass Killings, by Sara Niles
Mental Illness has been either a recognized or implied component of many of the recent mass killings, leading to the question: What can be done to avert such tragedies from a mental health point of view?
It is important to first recognize the fact just as the majority of mentally healthy people do not commit mass murder, the majority of mentally ill people do not commit mass murder. Whether the individual is mentally ill or mentally healthy, the act of killing strangers is a rare phenomenon in society and affects a small subgroup of people. In the case of mentally ill individuals acting upon delusions, and out of unhealthy obsessions, what can be done to stop them before they kill?
Were there red flags in the killers behavior, and if so, who saw those signs? What could be done to stop them?
Patrick Kennedy speaks about the need to recognize signs of mental illness and to provide comprehensive and early intervention before disaster strikes. One of the reasons society is slow to recognize the serious need for mental health treatment, is society still hides behind the denial that is an offshoot of the stigma of mental illness. Mental Illness is like the White Elephant in the middle of the room, hiding in plain sight while everyone ignores the problem. In order to provide early diagnoses and treatment, there needs to be a more accessible health plan in place, and the stigma of mental illness needs to be removed. Mental Illness needs to be talked about as openly as cancer awareness, and the relatives and friends of those suffering from mental illness need to be able to recognize signs of mental illness.
In the cases of the small percentage of the mentally ill who are capable of extreme violence, there must be individuals willing to support them when it is needed, and to report them when it is essential to public safety. The key element of civil commitment of the mentally ill is to recognize when they are a " Danger to Self or Others', which is a guideline in all fifty states. Although civil commitment is not always and option for relatives and friends, there should be a legal option to report potentially lethal behavior, such as using social media to advertise violent plots.
Mental health professionals treating potentially deadly clients were not under legal obligation to warn others until the 1976 landmark case of Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, in which a patient told his psychotherapist he intended to kill a a woman: two months later the patient stabbed the woman to death and the parents sued. The Supreme Court decision resulted in the nationally adopted 'Duty to Warn' rule that applies to all mental health professionals, which was expanded to include warning third parties when the threat is specific in the case of Family Reported Threats
Someone almost always knows about even a 'loners' strange behavior and there needs to be a reporting method that will result in the individual being assessed and monitored, even in cases in which mandatory treatment is not an option. In cases in which violence has been threatened, there needs to be legislation in place that will allow for weapons screening.
Although many mental health advocates deny there is any connection between mass killing and mental health issues, The Treatment Advocacy Center released data from a study covering 30 killings over a 50 year period, that confirms mental illness as an element in the mass murders.
Mental Illness has been either a recognized or implied component of many of the recent mass killings, leading to the question: What can be done to avert such tragedies from a mental health point of view?
It is important to first recognize the fact just as the majority of mentally healthy people do not commit mass murder, the majority of mentally ill people do not commit mass murder. Whether the individual is mentally ill or mentally healthy, the act of killing strangers is a rare phenomenon in society and affects a small subgroup of people. In the case of mentally ill individuals acting upon delusions, and out of unhealthy obsessions, what can be done to stop them before they kill?
Were there red flags in the killers behavior, and if so, who saw those signs? What could be done to stop them?
Patrick Kennedy speaks about the need to recognize signs of mental illness and to provide comprehensive and early intervention before disaster strikes. One of the reasons society is slow to recognize the serious need for mental health treatment, is society still hides behind the denial that is an offshoot of the stigma of mental illness. Mental Illness is like the White Elephant in the middle of the room, hiding in plain sight while everyone ignores the problem. In order to provide early diagnoses and treatment, there needs to be a more accessible health plan in place, and the stigma of mental illness needs to be removed. Mental Illness needs to be talked about as openly as cancer awareness, and the relatives and friends of those suffering from mental illness need to be able to recognize signs of mental illness.
In the cases of the small percentage of the mentally ill who are capable of extreme violence, there must be individuals willing to support them when it is needed, and to report them when it is essential to public safety. The key element of civil commitment of the mentally ill is to recognize when they are a " Danger to Self or Others', which is a guideline in all fifty states. Although civil commitment is not always and option for relatives and friends, there should be a legal option to report potentially lethal behavior, such as using social media to advertise violent plots.
Mental health professionals treating potentially deadly clients were not under legal obligation to warn others until the 1976 landmark case of Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, in which a patient told his psychotherapist he intended to kill a a woman: two months later the patient stabbed the woman to death and the parents sued. The Supreme Court decision resulted in the nationally adopted 'Duty to Warn' rule that applies to all mental health professionals, which was expanded to include warning third parties when the threat is specific in the case of Family Reported Threats
Someone almost always knows about even a 'loners' strange behavior and there needs to be a reporting method that will result in the individual being assessed and monitored, even in cases in which mandatory treatment is not an option. In cases in which violence has been threatened, there needs to be legislation in place that will allow for weapons screening.
Although many mental health advocates deny there is any connection between mass killing and mental health issues, The Treatment Advocacy Center released data from a study covering 30 killings over a 50 year period, that confirms mental illness as an element in the mass murders.
Out of the 30 perpetrators, the Mental Illness Treatment Advocacy Center stated
“Twelve perpetrators had psychotic symptoms at the time of the killings and another 8 individuals “exhibited behavior suggestive of psychosis;” thus 20 of the 30 perpetrators (67%) had definite or probable psychosis”
One of the worst mass killings of this century was the Sandy Hook Elementary school killing in which twenty year-old Adam Lanza killed his mother, 20 elementary school children, before killing himself. It does not require a mental health assessment to determine Lanza was not only mentally ill, but Violent and Mentally ILL. The facts uncovered a very troubled teen, isolated, anorexic, and in contact with a 'mirco-society of mass murderers' via the internet. Lanza fueled his sick mind with the unhealthy communication from other sick and violent minds. Lanza evolved into an obsessed mass murderer with access to resources, guns and ammunition.
Someone knew about Lanza's mental instability and his potential for violence long before The Sandy Hook Killings happened, even if that someone was only Lanza's mother. Lanza should have been committed for forced treatment and assessed as either 'safe' to release into society or unsafe. There should be better assessment tools, better legal alternatives to civil commitment and better reporting channels, and better support for families dealing with seriously disturbed family members.
Legislation must address the gaps in mental health treatment for the general population and the identification of the small subgroup capable of violence against others. The general population of the mentally ill are not responsible for violent act against society, and should be exempted from the strict controls needed to weed out the Lethally Mentally Ill, such as Adam Lanza.
Monday, October 5, 2015
Domestic Violence as a Societal Problem by Sara Niles
Societal behaviors develop
over time, as historical influences change, new powers emerge, and societal
attitudes gradually adapt and become part of the dominant culture. In the case
of domestic violence, getting a historical overview of how far the world has
come in recognizing domestic abuse and violence as unacceptable behavior is
important to the big picture. The Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence,
I.C.S.D.V., expands the historical view of domestic violence back in time to
753 B.C. when Romulus of Rome was in power and wife beating was considered
acceptable behavior among the Romans. In order for there to be a wrong behavior
according to society, it must be labeled and categorized as both morally and
legally wrong before society as a whole takes it seriously. Societal beliefs
and attitudes have to change during this process as the level of awareness is
brought to the forefront. Rules and Laws have to change to reflect the
seriousness of societal boundaries, and consequences have to be enforced upon
those who ‘break the rules’. The first step is always labeling the ‘wrong’. In
the case of domestic violence, a behavior that was once trivialized, American
society had a long way to go before arriving at a healthy point in the
continuum of change.
Slavery
is an extreme example of how societal beliefs and attitudes affect societal
response. In the United States of America, the advent of slavery began as a
behavior that became the norm among those in power, to own slaves and to abuse
slaves, was also the ‘norm’: there was no societal wrong involved, therefore no
criminal behavior to punish, because those in power either embraced slavery or
swept it under the rug. In the case of child abuse within the home, or violence
against women, there was no established ‘wrong’ until the behavior was first
labeled as unacceptable by society at large. Wife abuse was considered normal
until the early 1900’s when statutes such as the 1945 California ruling that
any man who willfully beats his wife or child severely enough to cause
“traumatic injury” will be guilty of committing a felony
Take
notice of the legal wording that suggests a man may beat his wife or child as
long as there was no ‘traumatic injury’, which is a clear indication of how
important wording was in the legal advances of domestic violence issues. The
raising of social and societal awareness came before the implementation of
change, both in the United States and globally, as women and children graduated
in their societal status from that of being the property of a man to being
human beings deserving of holding the right to humane and just treatment both
in the home, and outside the home. In Italy, the law first decreed it a crime
to kill a wife, or female relative by a man who acted to ‘uphold his honor’, as
late as 1960. Society has universally undervalued female life until the
American Civil Rights movement created the Women’s Rights movement during the
1960’s, gaining strength over time as the causes of women were heralded over
the next decades, resulting in the national framework that today supports
domestic violence legislation, and the Federal funding of victims services that
exist now.
The
terms Domestic Violence, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault, were also vestiges
of the women’s movement, as new awareness bred the creation of new tools used
to evoke change. Society needed to know that ‘beating’ a spouse was a serious
violation of human rights, therefore the term ‘battered woman’ was first coined
by Lenore Walker who was instrumental in awakening society to the ugliness and
prevalence of domestic violence across all economic and social spectrums. The
domestic violence movement gained momentum with the release of Lenore Walker’s
1979 book received national attention, as it brought to the fore the dirty
secret of domestic violence that was occurring behind closed doors all over the
country. The domestic violence terminology that followed for the next 20 years
produced labels that defined a once accepted behavior as now ‘taboo’: Domestic
Violence, ‘Battered Woman’, Domestic Abuse, Sexual Assault, sexual abuse and
many others that were first labeled and defined as wrong, and later supported
by legislation that criminalized the behavior. The inclusion of family members
was suggested by the more generic term Family Violence, as well as the fact
family violence affected males as well as females.
In
order for society to fully meet the challenge of providing not only validation
to victims of violence, but physical assistance via shelters and counseling
programs, funding was needed-a lot of funding in all 50 states. The Violence
Against Women Act, or VAWA Act of 1994, was first initiated and is now one of
the largest and broadest federally funded domestic violence grant initiatives
in U.S. history. VAWA is expanded annually to provide intervention and services
that address the needs of victims as well as the prosecutorial muscle to hold
perpetrators of domestic violence accountable.
The
2014 VAWA initiative is a landmark marking 20 years of positive change in domestic
violence legislation and societal awareness. Vice President Joe Biden spoke of
the significance of that change when he cited the fact that 20 years ago, there
was little legal consequence if a man “kicked his wife in the stomach” or
habitually raped her, because our culture did not recognize abuse as abuse
http://time.com/3319325/joe-biden-violence-against-women/
Twenty-seven
years ago, I was a victim of severe domestic violence that forced me to flee
for my life, and disappear with my five children with no support from a
domestic violence agency. In 1987, society had a different view of domestic
violence and its impact upon families, so I am well aware of the change in
societal attitudes over the past few decades. I was surprised to see the effect
of the Ray Rice scandal and how societal response has changed. Twenty years
ago, the Ray Rice scandal would not have been a ‘scandal’ any more than O.J.
Simpson’s abuse and murder of his wife, Nicole Simpson was at the time. I
remember one juror making a statement that minimized the role domestic violence
played in the O.J. Simpson murders, when she said "This is no domestic violence trial-this is a murder trial”, when is fact, they were one and the same, the
murder of Nicole was a domestic homicide, with Ronald Goldman’s murder a tragic
secondary part of the collateral damage. The O.J. Simpson trial was possibly
the first big domestic violence slap in the face that helped to promote a major
change in societal attitudes toward domestic violence. Domestic Violence was,
and still is often fatal, a fact that victims are usually aware of, before
becoming silent homicide statistics.
In
the case of Nicole Brown Simpson, just as in the case of many domestic homicide
victims, the victim usually is aware of the perpetrator’s level of lethality. The now world famous Chris Jenner, mother to the Kardashians,
was a close friend of Nicole Brown Simpson before her murder and reported this
fact to the world via a Dateline NBC Special : “Things are really bad between
OJ and I, and he’s going to kill me, and he’s going to get away with it.”
Nicole had told her just weeks before her murder that "O.J. is going to
kill me". Nicole predicted her own murder based on gut instinct, and yet
it still happened, and O.J. Simpson was acquitted and ‘got away with it’ as
Nicole also eerily predicted. The societal stance at that time was embedded in
the general attitude that if she was in danger ‘Why didn’t she just leave?’…:but
of course, leaving is usually what triggers the majority of domestic violence
homicides. Leslie Morgan Steiner, the author of the bestselling book Crazy
Love, does an excellent job of explaining that dynamic in this video:
Society
has come a long way since the 1994 murders committed by O.J. Simpson, an
example of societal change can be seen in the societal response to the Ray Rice
domestic violence assault, caught on tape here:
The O.J. Simpson case was a societal wake-up call, whereas the Ray Rice event took stock of how far society has come:
TIME: OJ Simpson and Ray Rice
The O.J. Simpson case was a societal wake-up call, whereas the Ray Rice event took stock of how far society has come:
TIME: OJ Simpson and Ray Rice
Although
Society has traveled an impressive distance in the journey toward
enlightenment. the domestic violence journey is not over yet. There is still
work to do on a large scale to keep change moving forward in a positive
direction. In-school education on the dynamics of healthy versus unhealthy
behaviors in families and by individuals needs to become part of national
policy in order to eradicate the roots of domestic violence from within
dysfunctional families.Until you remove the root-the weeds always come back.
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Donald Trump Republican Debate September 16, 2015
I watched the entire debate with a keen eye open to detect any changes in the tone or philosophy of Donald Trump versus the world, and I can say the intense forcefulness that Trump possessed in the first round of debates was missing in the second event. There was less braggadocio, less adolescent insults, and less claims to take over the world under the power of Trump alone; while the 'others' one by one, took the floor. One particular shining star was Carly Fiorina, who not only seemed to be prepared for anything Trump threw at her, but was seriously armed with political ideas and plans if she claimed the title of president. The plot thickens as the show goes on.
Read the CNN take below:
Carly Fiorina takes on Donald Trump
Read the CNN take below:
Carly Fiorina takes on Donald Trump
Monday, August 17, 2015
Amazing video of Angel Falls in Venezuela
"The Greatest Artist of All presents the world's works of wonder: Waterfalls of the world"
Sara Niles, Pinterest
Waterfalls of The World:
Taken from YouTube: Hosier Tim's Travel Videos
ANGEL FALLS, located in Venezuella, is the world's tallest waterfall: over 3000 feet
Taken from Youtube: Dennis V
Sara Niles, Pinterest
Waterfalls of The World:
Taken from YouTube: Hosier Tim's Travel Videos
ANGEL FALLS, located in Venezuella, is the world's tallest waterfall: over 3000 feet
Taken from Youtube: Dennis V
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