Mental Illness and the Myths about Violence

Last week, a second black box was found at the site where a Germanwings AirBus A320 crashed in the French Alps, killing 150 people, including the co-pilot Andreas Lubitz. That and a search of Lubitz's apartment have provided more evidence that he deliberately caused the crash. Since then, news reports have focused on his history of severe depression. But experts on mental illness say it's dangerously misleading to suggest that depression alone was the cause of mass murder. They warn of unnecessary fear -- and a stigma that discourages people from reporting treatable symptoms. Feelings of aggression and hostility do complicate the equation, raising conflicts between privacy and public safety.