Lindsay Clancy case: Psychologist reveals psychosis ‘red flags’ family members could have spotted
DUXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS: A mental health expert recently revealed that mothers suffering from postpartum psychosis, like Lindsay Clancy, who is accused of strangling her three young children, can display unsettling warning signs before taking a traumatic step. Clinical psychologist Katayune Kaeni also described the signs and symptoms of the vicious psychosis, which she claims is not as rare as people think.
The 32-year-old Massachusetts mother allegedly strangled her three children - five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson, and seven-month-old Callan – before attempting to take her own life on January 24. Clancy is currently facing two counts of first-degree murder, three counts of strangulation and suffocation, and three counts of assault with a deadly weapon. However, she pleads not guilty to the charges, as her defense attorney claims that she was suffering from a postnatal psychotic break when the incident took place. The attorney also added that overmedication was to blame for his client's troubling behavior.
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Clancy’s harrowing tale has sparked a nationwide debate about the importance of postpartum mental health, with Dr Kaeni claiming that experiencing psychosis after birth is "not as rare as you would think." The clinical psychologist, who is a board member for Postpartum Support International, said that survivors are "requesting that we don't use the word rare anymore" as mothers, who exhibit signs and symptoms of the vicious psychosis, are unable to secure a helpful diagnosis because the ailment is thought to be uncommon, reported The Sun.
What are the signs of postpartum psychosis?
"There are a lot of people who are suffering through this," the psychologist said, citing a startling figure that one in 2,000 pregnant women experience psychosis. Dr Kaeni said there are a number of telltale signs that could indicate someone is suffering from the disease. "Right away, a red flag is how much they're sleeping," she said. "Sometimes somebody who's having a postpartum psychosis experience may be having a manic episode." This episode could result in a new mother acting "fine" despite getting little to no sleep, stated Dr Kaeni, who hosts a mental health podcast called Mom and Mind.
"Anybody who's really only sleeping two hours a night is going to have mental changes and nobody can be their normal self and feel their normal self with just two hours," the mental health expert said. According to Kaeni, a postpartum person may appear to be "not there" when you converse with them. "If you look into somebody's eyes and they may seem a little absent, that would be an indicator," the doctor said."Or having a flight of ideas where they're thinking they can do a lot of things that they couldn't. And then certainly hallucinations are possible and are usually auditory or visual hallucinations - hearing things that aren't there."
'Cruel trick'
As per Clancy’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, the mother also heard a terrorizing male voice telling her to kill her children. He asserted that his client was acting like a “Zombie” weeks before the killing. Reddington further claimed that Clancy was suffering a mental breakdown and she even had a brief stay in a mental health facility three weeks before the fateful day.
Despite the fact that she had never directly worked with Clancy, Dr Kaeni stressed that women dealing with acute mental illness can move in and out of psychosis in what she called a "cruel trick”. She noted that psychotic episodes can come on suddenly and last for hours or even only a few minutes. "Because of the break from reality, people often don't know what they are doing, or what they have done while they're in an active psychotic process," Kaeni said.
How families can help mothers suffering from postpartum psychosis
Dr Kaeni continued by claiming that the individual who may be experiencing a mental health problem needs support from their family. "What I think is really important is that the person who's potentially going through a mental health condition really does need the support of family," the doctor said. "That can be incredibly important in catching things earlier because a family member can notice potentially even before a postpartum person can." In addition to the family, Kaeni mentioned organizations like PSI that provide resources, such as online support groups and helplines, to assist people to obtain the support they need.