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What Is The Mental Health Issue In Wally Lamb's The Hour I First Believed

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Wally Lamb’s The Hour I First Believed depicts a tragic school shooting in which two murderers killed thirteen people and injured many more. Maureen, the school nurse, was present during the shooters' rampage and battled mental health issues for the remainder of her life. The Columbine shooting and Maureen’s illustrate the many school shootings that have occurred in the United States, causing an increase in deaths, mental health issues in survivors, and structural changes in the education system.
The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb shows the Columbine shooting and the consequent severe mental health effects in not only survivors but also the families of the survivors. Maureen, who hid several feet from the shooters, experiences mental …show more content…

School shootings directly impact survivors, as they have an “increased incidence of a range of negative mental health outcomes, among them post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression” (Lowe and Galea 1). The connection between school shooting survivors and increased rates of mental health disorders reveals the long-lasting consequences of school shootings on innocent children, teachers, and other faculty. These disorders can contribute to a decrease in the quality of life of the survivors, a decrease in their lifespans, and an increase in unemployment as survivors may undergo little to no motivation or an inability to function without flashbacks that leave them paralyzed. Without help, the victims remain trapped in their disorders, which prevents them from living full lives. An example of negative mental health consequences is apparent in ten-year-old Catilyne Gonzales, a survivor of the Uvalde shooting, who experiences mental health decline after hearing a shooter murder her best friends across the hall. Izadi and Powers convey that Catilyne struggles with being alone and separated from her mother. If she is left alone, she has severe meltdowns (21:42). Catilyne’s situation exemplifies the effects of school shootings on children, though each victim reacts differently, and expresses …show more content…

One source found that “anti-depressant prescriptions for young adults in the vicinity of school shootings tend to rise after they occur” (McKnight et al. 2). The rise of anti-depressant prescriptions further proves that school shootings create mental health issues. Mcknight illustrates the effect such a tragic event has on a community. While anti-depressants provide relief to these sufferers, they also have harmful side effects that may interfere with their physical health, such as fatigue, nausea, and fatigue (Mayo Clinic Staff 1). In addition to increased prescription rates, school shootings affect children in the community more than violence in other locations because children know the victims, and school shootings break children's trust in school safety (Rossin-Slater 2). This analysis concludes that after a school shooting, students no longer feel safe at school and suffer more acutely due to personal connections with the victims. If the effects and feelings of the students become severe, students may need to seek professional help to resolve their pain and misery. After a school shooting, community members will often seek psychiatric help to combat their trauma and suffer immensely due to their personal ties to the victims, which may result in professional

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