I am so very thankful I got the help I needed. With all these violent acts in the news lately, many of them tell the same story.

A troubled individual, usually troubled since childhood, with continual fantasies of violent acts against others, until the day when they finally snap, or the plan they have crafted in their sick mind finally all comes together and they have the oppurtunity to act out the greatest drama their mind ever conceived.

I am thankful because I too have had / continue to have such fantasies, but now I understand why and where these thoughts are coming from and how to cope with them in ways other than acting them out.

I am convinced if I had not gotten help when I did, I'd be the one on the front page of the newspaper, the breaking story on the evening news and plastered all over the internet like these others have been in recent months.

I feel terrible not only for the victims, but the accused as well, for I know that if they had gotten help sooner, the violence very well might have been prevented.

What can we do to help though? Raise awareness? Donate to mental health organizations? Write our elected officials calling for increased funding to mental health facilities and increased mental health coverage from insurance companies?

Something needs to be done. All this suffering at the hands of mentally ill individuals is so unecessary.