The hard truth about Mental health

People need to take responsibility for their actions

Data of violent crime rates in San Jose from 2010-2022.

Graph Contributed by Van Life Wanderer

Data of violent crime rates in San Jose from 2010-2022.

I have a lot of mental disorders, but I do not see those, nor stress, induced by the pandemic as an excuse to do stupid things. Crimes have been around since before COVID-19, but they have been surging since its start in 2020.

There were the peaceful protests by Black Lives Matter against systemic police brutality during that timespan, which was taken advantage of by rioters to loot stores. It disturbs me that people think it is okay to make peaceful protesters look bad by association in the pursuit of personal gain.

If you have got a loved one suffering in Ukraine, it is not an excuse to do anything erratic. It is an excuse to do what you can and to vent to people you trust.

Of course, people can develop psychiatric disorders due to drugs that affect neurotransmitters, which are chemicals your brain uses to deliver messages to your body, according to a study published in the National Library of Medicine in May 2022.

There is also another factor that can contribute to psychological disorders called epigenetics, which are changes in how your genes express themselves in response to the environment. My epigenetics were that I learned when I was a baby to love a sociopathic, narcissist father and an alcoholic doormat of a mother. My father only loved me if I was a “yes man” to him. When I proved not to be marketable as a wife, he made me feel like I was not worthy of his approval. I did not let that lead me to make bad decisions.

I would have tremendous difficulty functioning today if it were not for my medications and the kindness of my roommate who took me in after my father had left me homeless. I am one of the lucky lunatics.

It is not that the pandemic cannot make people erratic; it is just that it is not an excuse.

I hope that others will hold themselves responsible for their actions as I do for mine.