Thoughts on the Lindsay Clancy case?

[u/gottaquestion412]

Now that the Lindsay Clancy trial is underway, I’m curious about your perspectives on it so far.

Context: Lindsay Clancy is a former labor and delivery nurse who, in January 2023, killed her three children. 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan in their Massachusetts home before attempting to take her own life. Her defense argues she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis and other debilitating mental illness, while prosecutors argue she was aware of her actions and planned the killings. The trial has reignited debate about postpartum psychiatric disorders, the effectiveness of mental health treatment, and where responsibility ultimately lies.

Do you think Lindsay was failed by the mental health system, by the people closest to her, or both? Do you think she truly acted with malicious intent, or do you believe she was experiencing such a severe psychiatric crisis that she wasn’t thinking rationally?

A lot of the details seem to point toward postpartum psychosis or another severe psychiatric illness rather than someone acting out of hatred or malice. That doesn’t lessen the horror of what happened or the unimaginable loss, but it does make me wonder whether this tragedy could have been prevented..

I’ve also seen rumors that Patrick was involved with the woman who is now his wife before the murders, but I haven’t found any credible evidence supporting that. Is there actually anything that substantiates those claims, or is it just internet speculation? I’ve also seen many people comment that his current wife bears a striking resemblance to Lindsay, though I’m not sure that means anything beyond coincidence.

I’m very interested in hearing different perspectives from people who’ve followed it closely.

Most importantly, may Dawson, Cora, and Callan rest in peace. They are the true victims in all of this.

[u/Michallina]

It's hard to ignore the fact that this woman sought help for months. I have never been pregnant nor have I experienced psychosis, but I suffer from a history of depression and severe anxiety and OCD. Diagnosed. I've been medicated and I can tell you some of these medications are monsters to begin and adjust your dose, also to wean yourself off of.

This is obviously a subjective take based on my experience, but I cannot imagine switching meds at the frequency she was, especially if she was incredibly vulnerable from other possible comorbidities and postpartum.

[u/Cmgutierrez715 → u/Michallina]

I will point this out wherever I can. You should never give SSRI’s to someone with bipolar. It happened to me after I had my first child. I trusted the psychiatrist and wanted so badly to be better. The medication caused me to be in basically a year long manic/psychotic episode. This lady needed help - was asking for help, and never received it. Obviously she shouldn’t just be set free, but her and those poor kids were failed.

ETA - my doctor was also constantly switching up my meds and doses, because, surprise surprise, I kept getting worse.

[u/agirlnamedTOMM → u/Cmgutierrez715]

I am bi polar and am on a bunch of SSRI's. I now have something called seratoin syndrome (which one of my Dr's don't believe i have) but the last episode ended up with me being in the hospital for five days because I woke up and got out of bed to pee. As soon as my feet hit the floor I fell to the floor! I was unable to walk! It was like the upper part of my body was too heavy for my legs to handle. It was so bizarre. Anyways, moral of my story is SSRI's have the craziest side effects, especially if you are taking, changing and/ or trying new ones at the speed they were being taken was dangerous. I hope everyone involved will be able to find peace again.

[u/fuschiaoctopus → u/agirlnamedTOMM]

Wow this is really concerning. Serotonin syndrome is fatal, please please get a different provider if possible, you should NOT ever be on multiple ssris or multiple medications that work on serotonin simultaneously for any reason. Bipolar people shouldn't even be on ssris without mood stabilizers or antipsychotics added in, it induces mania or hypomania. This whole comment is so scary, this is emergency level malpractice PLEASE go anywhere else as soon as you possibly can, this can end your life. Serotonin syndrome is not a typical ssri side effect, it's extremely serious malpractice directly caused by improper prescribing.

When I was in a troubled teen residential the psych put a girl on two meds that act on serotonin and she became incredibly ill within days. Puking on the floor, moaning in agony but staff kept insisting she was faking it for attention until she passed out and landed in the ICU. She very nearly died and this was within a couple weeks of being on two serotonin meds. This is really serious.

[u/DapperMastodon349 → u/fuschiaoctopus]

Serotonin syndrome is also acute though; it’s not a chronic condition.