The article includes discussing a real person with a serious mental illness.
Real names have not been used.
Nothing in this narrative is intended to disparage or stigmatize those who might suffer from any medical condition.
The reasons for concealed carry in the United States generally relate to self-defense. For each person, that reason is different and can be intensely personal.
However, it is a dangerous world.
It behooves one to face potential danger with his or her eyes open to the risks they might face.
Crazy is a lyrically overused term these days.
Not all violent people have mental illness, nor are all people with mental illness are violent. However, mentally ill people with a predisposition toward violence can potentially be dangerous.
Psychiatrists institutionally despise that word.
Labels are passe in todays enlightened society.
Such antiquated terminology invariably foments subconscious bias.
The author encountered the subject of this article during an emergency room visit.
What most people mean when they use the word crazy is psychosis.
Distilled to its essence, this just means disconnected from reality.
The age of onset is typically late teens or early twenties.
Medications can go a long way toward mitigating the effects of many common mental illnesses. However, they only work as long as they are taken properly. Image: Unsplash/Alexander Grey.
The experience is uniformly horrifying for all involved, particularly the patient.
The overwhelming majority of folks who develop such maladies are utterly harmless.
They might make you feel a little bit weird when first you meet.
There are many violent people in society. Being prepared to defend yourself can be a sound approach if you are faced with an unavoidable threat.
One cute little blonde-headed kid I met in the hospital with ASPD looked perfectly normal.
Thankfully, such extreme psychopathy is fairly rare.
However, it is in those rare outliers where the real danger can be found.
Lets call him Frank.
He was 25 years old.
At first impressions, Frank was incredibly imposing.
This guy was built like Arnold Schwarzenegger circa 1984.
He was a simply incredible specimen.
Franks family had brought him to the ER because he was acting strangely at home.
This bought him a ticket to the lockdown psych ward.
Frank was engaging and articulate, if a bit strange.
I inquired regarding his story, and he was quite forthright.
Frank ultimately taught me quite a lot.
One of the things he taught me was that I should never leave the house without a gun.
Talking to Demons
When Frank was a teenager he developed an insatiable interest in the occult.
He said he read rapaciously on the subject and subsequently began actively praying to Satan.
When the time was right, he said he asked the Prince of Darkness to send him some company.
He said one of the three talked to him all the time.
Frank eventually took a job in a rough part of town.
One of the three, I forget which, directed his attention to the four men.
Lets assume it was Dagon.
Dagon pointed out one man in particular for attention.
He told Frank that he needed to do something about that guy.
Frank explained that he didnt care.
Dagon said failure to intervene meant that this gentleman would actually hurt Frank.
Unsettling Thoughts…
Frank spent the next several years in prison.
As near as I could tell, all he did for those years was lift weights.
He had been released some 30 days before we met.
As an aside, the needle and the screw passed of their own accord without further intervention.
The human body is a simply breathtaking machine.
We were arrayed in a line with me being farthest from the door.
Frank was sitting up in bed shirtless with the sheet pulled up to his waist.
As I mentioned, he was jacked like an absolute beast.
Once we filed in, Frank suddenly shouted at everybody to stop.
To use a tired metaphor, time momentarily stood still.
Once he completed this exercise he smiled and pleasantly asked what he could do for us.
I naturally asked him what exactly it was that he had just done.
Explaining as he might to a child, Frank said he knew we were coming to visit that morning.
He said this was designed to keep us safe while we were with him in his room.
I thanked him for both the explanation and the effort.
Rare, But Real…
Frank was a nice kid with a really bad disease.
Fortunately, Frank remained peaceful and calm when we interacted with him.
I fear what might have happened if he had not.
However, for that rare minority who do embrace the darkness, I pack a gun.
