Concern About Serious Mental Illness Stigma After VT Shootings

By: Claire Kellett, Anchor/Reporter

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By Claire Kellett

Story Created: Apr 25, 2007 at 9:17 PM CST

Story Updated: Apr 25, 2007 at 9:55 PM CST

CEDAR RAPIDS - Police are releasing new information about Seung-Hui Cho's shooting rampage inside Virginia Tech's Norris Hall. They say he fired 170 rounds in nine agonizing minutes. Police say Cho had chained shut three public entrances to the building. Investigators say they still haven't found a motive for Cho's attack that killed 32 people before he shot and killed himself.

Cho underwent a mental health evaluation in 2005. A Virginia judge said then he was "an imminent danger to himself," but Cho was never committed. Now a Cedar Rapids man who is coping with his own serious mental illness worries about a backlash in public opinion. Steve Miller says connecting all mental health patients with Cho is more than a mistake, it's a harmful judgment. He relates to the sting of such stereotypes.

“People with serious mental illness can recover. I've gone over a decade without an episode," says Miller.

After 17 years of agony, medication steered Miller's life back on track. Painfully aware of the stigmas attached to mental illness, he doesn't want to reveal too much about his condition, but he and his friend, Dr. Michael Flaum want others to know Cho's case is an isolated incident.

“Adults with serious mental illness like this gentleman most likely had, are much more likely to be victims of violent crimes than the perpetrators,” says Dr. Flaum.

That’s because, Dr. Flaum says, their judgment might not be as sharp and they can be easy targets. And he says, pushing mental health patients in a category with a killer is a detriment to society.

“If we are afraid of all people with serious mental illness, we're going to be afraid of a lot of people, a lot of people we need to be part of our society," says Dr. Flaum.

People like Miller, who has now dedicated his life to teaching others about serious mental illness. He says the more society understands, the better able it'll be to help those in his shoes.

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