Well they found out that the German airline copilot was having vision problems as well as unspecified psychiatric problems. Both of which he had hidden from the airlines. And he locked the Captain out of the cockpit, and according to French authorities, purposely crashed the plane into the Alps. Still nothing definitive, but the pieces are being put together and it looks like he did crash the plane on purpose. Dismayed and upset beyond belief over this. Why did he not get the help he needed? If he was going to a psychiatrist and had voiced any of his plans, why were the aviation authorities not notified? Or perhaps he didn’t say anything to anyone. He had a girlfriend, did she know anything? How can such a disaster be prevented? Mental illness questionnaires for pilots and co pilots? He was 27 years old, he had his whole life ahead of him, he was apparently a good pilot who loved flying. What would make someone like that do something like this? And taking 149 people with him, that is the most unconscionable part for me. I mean to end your own life is horrendous enough, but to take 149 people to their death with you? I don’t understand. Mental illness is difficult enough to tolerate on a personal level, but when it happens like this in a horrible public way and to people who are innocent bystanders, it is very hard to accept. And of course, then, people’s fear of mentally ill people increases. And so the stigma increases leading to less honesty and possibly even treatment for the mentally ill.

We take medications, we go to psychiatrists. Sometimes these very medications can make people psychotic (out of touch with reality, not a good thing), sometimes the doctors can put us on wrong medications or the wrong doses. Sometimes the doctors can be sexually, physically, verbally abusive or harassing towards their patients. Yes these are among the difficulties of having a mental illness. But none of these explains or excuses what happened with the Germanwings airliner. That was bad, just plain bad. I hope there is some way found that can prevent these sorts of things. I hope there are better treatments and screenings also found so these things can be prevented. I hope that stigma is also banished. This would make it easier for people to be truthful about their mental illness, and not hide or not get treatment.

Just some of my thoughts, I’m having trouble with this awful thing that happened.