How to respond when the mental health epidemic becomes personal

The trial of Lindsay Clancy, a mother accused of murdering her three young children, just wrapped up its fifth week, and continues to stir heated debates on social media. Countless women who’ve experienced postpartum depression, anxiety, or psychosis shared their stories online. Psychiatrists are sharing facts about mental health during the postpartum period, along with varying opinions on whether she received adequate treatment or not.

Conspiracy theorists have also entered the conversation, stringing together theories to “prove” that the killer was really her husband, Patrick. On the other side of the spectrum, conservative social commentator Matt Walsh called her a “selfish, evil witch,” condemning her and anyone else who excuses her alleged actions.

This case has stirred up a lot for me personally as well. I’m a health coach working at a counseling center alongside a team of therapists (one of whom is my husband). I’ve coached over a thousand clients with varying physical and mental health concerns. I’m also a survivor of PTSD, depression, and bipolar disorder. I’ve been symptom-free for almost 20 years.

I haven’t expressed my thoughts publicly until now. To start, as a mother of three, I have found the trial clips hard to watch. It’s a gut-wrenching tragedy.

The other reason is that the trial has brought out many of my unpleasant feelings toward psychiatric treatments in the 21^st century. While I never experienced depression, anxiety, or psychosis during the postpartum period, I have experienced psychosis as a result of being prescribed the wrong medication. I’ve also experienced thoughts of self-harm as a side effect of an antidepressant.

I’m not writing this to excuse the murder of three children. I’m not offering my opinion on what the outcome should be. But no matter your opinion of the crime itself and the punishment Lindsay should receive for the crime, I do believe this case highlights a deeper root issue: are we providing adequate care for those who struggle with mental health?

A tragedy of systemic failure

According to information presented at the trial, Lindsay cycled on and off thirteen different psychiatric medications, including over 30 prescriptions from five different prescribers, in a mere four months. She initially reported symptoms of anxiety, insomnia, and depression when her youngest child was three months old.

She was prescribed sertraline, and when she expressed that it wasn’t helping, an avalanche of medications and side effects followed, creating a barrage of mental chaos. It is that mental chaos that her legal team is now using to plead not guilty for reasons of insanity.

Many would argue that Lindsay received the best care possible:

• She got help when she needed it and did what her practitioners told her to do.
• She went to her doctor’s appointments, and she went to the hospital when symptoms escalated.
• She saw a therapist.
• She asked questions about her medications and their side effects and spoke up when her symptoms worsened.
• She pressed for a second opinion and more testing.

On the surface, Lindsay pursued all the avenues available in postpartum mental health.

So what went wrong?

Lindsay expressed concern over increasing symptoms, and she regularly expressed how the treatment plan didn’t seem to be helping, both to her family and also to the practitioners she saw for help. As someone who has experienced many adverse side effects from prescribed psychiatric treatments, my heart broke when I read this.

I’ve had intrusive thoughts while on certain medications. I’ve felt scary symptoms increase. I’ve heard and seen things that weren’t there. I’ve even acted out in self-destructive behaviors.

Thankfully, when the worst symptoms happened, my provider listened to me and adjusted the treatment plan. My mom stayed by my side to make sure I was safe. In fact, I attribute much of my ability to make it through those difficult years to my mom’s unceasing support.

The deeper issues

Though I overcame my early life mental struggles (and I share openly about them in my book), I don’t claim to have all the solutions for someone who is suffering with their mental health. I definitely don’t justify what Lindsay did, medication side effects or not. However, I do believe this case highlights deeply entrenched problems in the mental health care system.

Those problems start with a lack of provider collaboration and a lack of acknowledgment of medication side effects, effects that I and 80-89% of patients have experienced. It highlights the reality that just because someone has a medical team, a therapist, prescriptions, and a supportive family doesn’t mean they will get better. And as someone working at a mental health counseling center, that is terrifying.

For years, we’ve had mental health awareness campaigns and suicide hotlines (hotlines Lindsay called twice, yet didn’t report to her psychiatrist). More and more people have access to care. But is access enough to prevent tragedy? Is access enough to prevent what many consider to be such an evil, spiritually dark event?

Four ways Christians can respond

As believers in a dark, fallen world, we aren’t promised a lack of suffering. We aren’t promised security. We are, however, promised the peace of Christ (John 16:33) and his nearness (Matthew 28:20). And the peace we experience does cause a ripple effect in a hurting world.

How can we use this peace to support those in a dark place?

1. Listen. When someone shares that they’re in a bad place, believe them. Don’t assume that because they’re on medication and seeing a doctor and/or therapist, that they’re receiving adequate care. Don’t assume you are unqualified to support them.

1. Observe with discernment. Just because someone is involved in church or active in your Bible study doesn’t mean they aren’t struggling with their mental health. This applies to ministry leaders as well. I was always involved in church ministry. I was a Christian camp counselor. I knew all the Bible verses to pray during my battle with my mental health. I still struggled. I still needed a team of support. I still needed someone to check on me when they noticed behavior that wasn’t typical for me.

1. Offer compassion. Mental health disorders are real. Whether the root case is related to hormones, neurotransmitters, mitochondrial dysfunction, metabolic syndrome, gut dysbiosis, inflammation, microglial activation, stress, or trauma, they are real disorders that nobody is immune to, especially now. Mental disorder rates increased 95.5% from 1990 to 2023. We need physical, emotional, and spiritual tools for support.

1. Understand that female hormonal changes bring changes to mental health. For females, the brain undergoes physiological restructuring at certain phases of life, especially during puberty, the postpartum period, and perimenopause (the 10+ years leading up to menopause). Unfortunately, cycling females weren’t included in clinical research until 1993, so there is still a lot we don’t know about how to support the female brain. However, more specialists are being trained in these changes, and women who struggle during these seasons may need more specialized support.

Lindsay Clancy’s case is (hopefully) the type of tragedy that only pops up in the news every few years. But I know her symptoms and her struggle are common to thousands of people every day. So even though this case is creating heated debates all across social media, as believers, we have the opportunity to look at the bigger picture.

Someone you know is struggling with their mental health right now. And you have the opportunity to be a safe place for them. How are you going to respond?

 

 

Denison Forum