The man has been found mentally incompetent. Yes, he might have refused his meds, many with mental illness do exactly that. If they were mentally competent, they would not refuse to take those meds, does that not make sense?
And many who take their meds, once they feel better, they become convinced they are cured, they go off their meds, the symptoms come back, often with very tragic results, sometimes the tragic death like with this young man, sometimes, the person with mental illness takes their own life. I knew someone who did exactly this.
We are only at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to treating mental illness in this country. And unfortunately, mental illness is all too often accompanied with a social stigma. Those with mental illness all too often get shunned and shoved to the wayside. Very sad, but very true.
If Canada wants to be a kinder and gentler society, then we have to get our heads out of the sand and make an attempt to understand what mental illness is and how it shows itself. And we have to make a concentrated effort to reach out and help those with mental illness. To not do so all too often ends up in tragedies such as we see here.
I feel sorry for all concerned here. There are victims on both sides.
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