| Tulsa authorities confirmed in the past hour that two physicians were murdered by a patient from Muskogee, OK, who incidently happened to be the husband of a Family Practice Physician. Dr. Preston Phillips, a Harvard-educated surgeon; was the confirmed target of yesterday's mass shooting at the St. Francis Health Systems clinic. Another physician in the clinic, Dr. Stephanie Husen, was also killed, as were a patient and the clinic supervisor, Amanda Glenn. Dr. Stephanie Husen is the other physician murdered yesterday. She's listed as a 2004 graduate of Oklahoma State University, as an Osteopathic Physician. She also practiced in the same clinic offices as Phillips. Amanda Glenn is listed on LinkedIn.com, as a supervisor for St. Francis Health Systems. Police refer to her as acting as a receptionist at the clinic, at the time of the shooting. William Love, a patient; was said to have held a door shut, keeping the gunman from accessing an area where others were fleeing for safety. The St. Francis patients now have less available medical care, including the scores of orthopedic patients who are currently in the St. Francis Hospital, for severe pain and disability. |  Physicians Preston Phillips & Stephanie Husen. |
 Clinic Supervisor, Amanda Glenn | The reports seem to be a narrative of a patient in unrelenting pain and becoming recklessly homicidal. The 45-year-old shooter is the spouse of a female Muskogee MD and appears to own an upscale home. The narrative points to a despairing individual becoming increasingly homicidal and suicidal. His severe pain issues may have left him convinced that his life was no longer tolerable. He may have believed the clinic and surgeon bore a responsibility for his plight. Further facts to come may reveal a different reality. But it seems the shooter intended to exit this world while meting out his own vigilante' revenge. He's reported to have purchased a handgun last weekend, and a rifle on the afternoon of the shooting. What Is Despair? |
Despair is not technically a mental illness. At least not in the context of psychosis, mania, or other delusions. It's deadly though. Probably responsible for the majority of suicides. It's marked by external circumstances that a person is overwhelmed by. It may hit in a moment, or build over hours and days. Losing hope is the best way to explain it. When it's paired with anger at someone who is believed to have caused the hopeless and intolerable condition, homicide is quite possible, unless intervention is successful.
The personality disorder known as narcissism can lead a despairing suicidal person to more easily become homicidal, because the narcissist lacks empathy or sympathy for others.
Some mental illnesses (Major Depressive disorder being a main one of them); have despair as one of the most noted symptoms. But that doesn't mean that Despair is only present in a psychiatric disorder. Yes, Anxiety Disorder causes individuals to feel despair even when situations don't merit such emotions. A clear 'litmus' test is that even when circumstances get better, a person with a clinical psychological disorder often still is overwhelmed with despair.. Because it's being generated from an inner brain chemistry imbalance, and not by outward circumstances.
The personality disorder known as narcissism can lead a despairing suicidal person to more easily become homicidal, because the narcissist lacks empathy or sympathy for others.
Some mental illnesses (Major Depressive disorder being a main one of them); have despair as one of the most noted symptoms. But that doesn't mean that Despair is only present in a psychiatric disorder. Yes, Anxiety Disorder causes individuals to feel despair even when situations don't merit such emotions. A clear 'litmus' test is that even when circumstances get better, a person with a clinical psychological disorder often still is overwhelmed with despair.. Because it's being generated from an inner brain chemistry imbalance, and not by outward circumstances.
