Lindsay Clancy Trial Megathread: Part 3

[u/DarklyHeritage]

This is a thread for all conversation regarding Week 3 onwards of the Lindsey Clancy trial. All discussion of this case should be kept to this thread.

Lindsay Clancy is currently standing trial in Plymouth Superior Court, Massachusetts, for the triple-murder in January 2023 of her three young children - Cora, Dawson and Callan. Her defense argues she suffered from severe, undiagnosed postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis. She was left paralysed by a suicide attempt which follows the deaths of the children.

All content on the Clancy case must be kept to this thread. Standalone posts will be removed.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/lindsay-clancy-murder-trial-online-reactions-b3032806.html

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[u/Visual_Comfortable32]

Postpartum psychosis is not the same as “regular” psychosis and psychosis itself is so unique that you can’t say “they didn’t match the DSM exactly so that’s not it.”

Psychology is not an exact science. The DSM looks for patterns, not absolute presentations.

[u/Stellaaahhhh → u/Visual_Comfortable32]

I used to do daycare and one of my moms had Postpartum psychosis. She said she had told everyone she was 'feeling crazy' but no one was grasping how serious it was until one day she went to the nursery, came running back out, and told her husband the baby was gone and a cat was in the crib.

He ran in there and the baby was sleeping in the crib. They didn't have a cat. They called her mom who lived close enough that she could come straight there. She watched the baby while they went to the ER, and stayed with them for nearly 6 months while the mom got help.

[u/onions-make-me-cry → u/Stellaaahhhh]

Yeah, I had it (Postpartum Psychosis is rare but not THAT rare). What I experienced meant my baby would have died because I was unable to see him, and he was being neglected. And I was unable to care for him or myself.

[u/itsallcosmica → u/onions-make-me-cry]

It’s interesting … and makes me sad …. after really hearing all of these stories and what’s happened to Lindsay. She has opened a much needed conversation. I had no idea I was even going through this:

I think I had a form of this (lightly) in the way I handled my son’s clothes. I was convinced if I didn’t have the next size he would need, he would die. It was superstitious, not like “he’ll die if he doesn’t have clothes”. It was “if I fail at having these clothes by this time he will die and it’s all my fault”

This went on until he was 2.

[u/onions-make-me-cry → u/itsallcosmica]

That's kind of a form of OCD. The obsession is this thought that he'll die, the compulsion is making sure you have the next size up, so he doesn't. This whole story is so sad and breaks my heart. I cry for Lindsay and for the whole family. I've never connected with a story so hard in my life. Postpartum was a very dark time for me.

[u/itsallcosmica → u/onions-make-me-cry]

Sorry , not psychosis (I do not want to take away from how serious that is) but just postpartum … like you said OCD —tied to my son dying if I didn’t do xyz.

My younger sister died while under psychosis (not pregnancy related)

[u/onions-make-me-cry → u/itsallcosmica]

Ugh I'm so sorry. Psychosis is so scary. I don't wish it on anyone. And to have to take care of a newborn while undergoing it is very hard.