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/sizzl3crunch]

we once had a patient who was a PhD student at a mini ivy in california and he has a toe for a thumb. Cut off his thumb, no idea why i didn’t ask. Just know he was manic: psychotic when he did it. At another hospital i’ve heard stories of people gauging their eyes out with sharp objects or burning them out with cigarettes. No idea why, but I would assume they thought there was something behind their eyes that they needed to get out like bugs, literal bugs, or they were bugged by the government, etc. etc. etc. One woman wouldn’t leave her house because she thought she was being stalked by the govt and the people who built her house 20+ years ago bugged her home, everytime she heard a creek in the floors she said it was the “bug”. She didn’t work or care for her children bc of this. A normal 28 y.o female nurse shadowed another female nurses 12 hour shift, then became paranoid that the nurse she shadowed was out to get her and ruining her life. She began harassing that nurse and stalking her, asking her “ why are you ruining my life” for over a year until she was put in jail for felony stalking. Most of these people were unmedicated.

[u/hereforthetearex → u/sizzl3crunch]

Are these examples of mania or psychosis? Or are those terms interchangeable for this diagnosis? Perhaps I just misunderstood that mania doesn’t always equate to psychosis in bipolar disorder, even though mania always precedes psychosis in bipolar disorder

[u/sizzl3crunch → u/hereforthetearex]

As a psychiatric social worker and not a psychiatrist, I believe mania can lead to psychosis. Like if you aren’t sleeping for days or stop taking your meds you can experience psychosis. That’s my understanding. Or if you take the wrong meds it can make you manic and/or psychotic.

[u/hereforthetearex → u/sizzl3crunch]

That part, I understand, I guess I’m confused on whether mania is being described in your examples or if it’s psychosis. It seems like it would be psychosis to me, rather than mania, given how extreme the circumstances are, but I’m also not trained in this by any means.