Here’s the latest profile from SilencerCo’s excellent American Gun series. Genevieve doesn’t fit the demographic of what many believe to be the standard gun owner. However, firearms play a vital role in her life and the lives of many others outside this demographic.
She has struggled with severe OCD since she was a child, but more recently she developed a panic disorder so extreme she could no longer interact with the outside world. She attended an intensive behavioral health center to just get by. That is, until she discovered competitive shooting.
“I felt just so at peace, and I realized how skewed everybody’s perception of mental illness is, specifically in the gun industry, because I’m not a danger to people.”
The overwhelming majority of gun owners are not a danger to people. They are actually part of what keeps danger away.
Spot on. Literally 99.99 % of us are not “the problem.”
Someone recently put it more poignantly; if everyone who WASN’T a member of the NRA, SAF, GOA, holders of concealed carry permits…would just stop killing people the homicide rate would drop to zero.
May I add -legal gun owner’s are some of the most vetted people on earth.
correction needed, let me fix that for you
… legal gun owner’s are some of the most regulated people on earth.
I don’t know about finding peace through competition. When I shot competitively I spent a lot of time kicking the dirt. I also left the range with a grin on my face. So maybe…
Two of my friends and several relatives have long suffered from various manifestations of mental illness. One was eventually ‘cured’ when his doctors discovered high levels of mycotoxins (poisonous mold) in his blood. He moved to an apartment that tested low for mold and underwent an intensive program to remove the mycotoxins from his body. It took more than a year. OCD symptoms, extreme anxiety, shaking, all gradually went away.
Well I’ll be, never thought mold could make you nuts.
Wow that’s quite a video.
Next dog I get if I ever get one will be a German Shepherd.
The Chihuahua Dobie cross didnt work out to well. Didnt mind it eating the mailman. all he does is bring bills, but when its dragging the mailbox down the street along with the chain you had the dog hooked to,well that starts running into money I ain’t got.
Then the ice cream truck incident.
Did he bury the ice cream truck in the back yard?
What truck?
The “ice cream truck” that shall not be named. We don’t speak about the “ice cream truck”.
I’ve watched John and Genevieve on The Gun Collective for several years now. I enjoy their channel and the content.
I didn’t know about her struggles until today however. While I don’t know her, I’m proud of her. It takes great bravery to step into the light on such a subject as mental illness and guns.
I hope nothing but the best for her and her family.
Shooting is enjoyable and pushing yourself builds you. Huh who woulda thought? I thought we were all just a bunch of white red neck supremacist in toxic masculinity culture. Why is it so hard to understand? Yes safety is paramount and no your not a danger to others except their ego if ya win. Have fun and enjoy
I suffered from extreme ADHD most of my life. It effected me in school and at various jobs I had through the years (I’m 61 now). To this day,, there are very few activities I can focus on and shut that Hyperactive part of my brain down long enough to enjoy. That falls to one aspect of the Shooting Sports captured my attention, and allowed me to learn to focus, Reloading. I can sit for hours at my bench and reload. I enjoy it just as much as shooting. I’ve been using the same single stage press for 4 decades and my buddies chide me for not investing in a Progressive Press, but I honestly don’t want one, because I enjoy every step others find tedious.
So I can certainly appreciate the young lady’s plight, and that I’m glad she’s found something that lets her have a reprieve. .
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