My experience as a spouse of someone in a mental health crisis

When I was pregnant and for about a year after giving birth my husband had a severe mental health episode, with a scary number of similarities with Lindsay's symptoms and treatment options. Many of the things I'm hearing in the trial about her symptoms...feeling numb, insomnia, unable to feel love, panic and anxiety, disconnected from her body, are all things my husband went through a couple years ago. It was truly a nightmare for both of us. Being pregnant and postpartum while my husband struggled so much was terrifying and isolating. He also struggled with anxiety about his symptoms and placed blame on the medication so was often switched between different medication very quickly/frequently, to the point that most of the medication mentioned in the trial was also prescribed to him. I felt alot of anger at his therapist and prescriber for not helping him but I admit he had a role to play in not giving the medicines a chance to work. I was always very resistant to the amount of meds he was trialing, and they definitely had many affects on his mood and mental status.

All of this to say, if my husband killed me or my son during his crisis he would have been 100% responsible and deserving of a life sentence in prison. He agrees with this sentiment and is okay with me posting here. We made it through and he is doing so much better.

Due to this experience I feel immense sympathy especially for Patrick Clancy, and I hate the blame being placed on him for not helping his wife more. I see myself in him, being angry with her psychiatrist and therapist for over prescribing, and I can understand why he chooses to cope with this tragedy by placing blame on them instead of accepting that his wife is solely responsible for her actions.

Mental health issues may explain someone's behavior, but they cannot and should not be used as an excuse, especially with such a horrific crime. Lindsay deserves the most severe punishment the state can give her.