Bestselling Author and Mental Health Advocate
As I write this, we still don’t know if Jared Loughner had been diagnosed with a mental disorder before his weekend shooting rampage. Loughner is the 22 year-old accused of wounding U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D.-Ariz.) and killing a federal judge along with five others in Tuscon. 
The Washington Post and New York Times both reported that officials at Pima Community College told Loughner and his parents in October that he would not be able to continue as a student until he obtained a clearance from a mental health professional that certified he was not a danger to himself or others.
That revelation certainly implies that Loughner was exhibiting symptoms of a mental disorder, but no one should automatically assume that.
Stories such as Loughner’s are upsetting to those of us who have loved ones with mental illnesses. That’s especially true if your loved one has tangled with the police while psychotic because you know how quickly an incident can turn violent.
If it turns out that Loughner did have a diagnosed mental disorder, I hope the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Mental Health America (MHA), and other leading advocacy groups do not run for cover.
Instead, they should follow the example that NAMI Ohio set last week when Sheriff’s Deputy Suzanne Hopper, age 40, the mother of two children, was murdered by a man with a severe mental illness.
Washingtonian magazine has named Trudy Harsh as one of its twelve Washingtonians of the Year in its current January issue.
“For 39 years, The Washingtonian has honored those who bring help and hope to the neediest among us, give at-risk children a fighting chance, enrich our educational and cultural lives, and make Washington a better place for all of us,” the magazine announced in introducing this year’s winners.
I first wrote about Trudy last year on Mother’s Day in this blog after seeing for myself 
how she was helping persons with mental disorders find supportive housing in Fairfax County, Virginia. Click to continue…
Mental illnesses do not observe holidays. But I do.
Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones.
— Pete Earley
Here is a little something my friend, Sam Ormes sent me recently to share.
I don’t like to reprint articles on my blog, but this one is something that I hope everyone concerned about mental health reads. 
By Shelia Kaplan for AOL news.
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — As the rates of learning disabilities, autism and related conditions rise, the Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to release a roster of the pollutants likely to contribute to these or other neurological disorders.
In an ongoing, three-year effort, an EPA team has determined which developmental neurotoxicants — chemicals that damage a fetal and infant brain — may pose the biggest risk to the American public.
Some compounds on the EPA’s list are ubiquitous in household products, drinking water, medicine, and within the environment. They range from cadmium, used to etch colorful cartoons onto children’s glasses, to flame retardants used to fireproof upholstered furniture.
Does anyone really understand the workings of the human brain? 
One of the things I enjoy about traveling to give speeches is that I get to hear other people’s stories. Some of the stories are inspirational. They are about recovery. But others are sad. Regardless of where I go, I meet someone in the audience who has endured much worse than my son and me. Yes, my son has been arrested. Yes, he’s been shot with a Taser by police. But he is not in jail, is not homeless, is not belligerent, is not missing, and is not dead. Those situations are a grim reality for many parents.
Occasionally, I hear a story that surprises me and that happened during a recent trip. It’s a recovery story.
Pete Earley is the bestselling author of such books as The Hot House and Crazy. When he is not spending time with his family, he tours the globe advocating for mental health reform.
As a former reporter for The Washington Post, Pete uses his journalistic background to take a fair-minded approach to the story all while weaving an interesting tale for the reader.