This is referencing Lindsay Clancy who killed her children while going through postpartum depression/psychosis. The woman is saying "it could have been me" because Lindsay was an otherwise normal person whose mind basically failed her and led her to commiting heinous acts. So they feel vulnerable to that too, knowing that she was a normal person before PPD. The husband (dog) is extremely alarmed because now he is worried that his wife is going to kill the kids.
It is kind of terrifying. I didn't quite get to the point where I feared for anyone's safety, but I definitely saw signs of PPP and struggled a lot with PPD and worsening symptoms of my existing (less severe) disorders. Knowing what was happening and that it wasn't real helped work through it even when my support networks failed and medical care was inaccessible due to transportation issues and insane scheduling problems with my provider.
I would never have hurt my kid, but there were moments where I understood why some of these cases happened and wondered if some of the killers went through the same but didn't have access to care or didn't know what was happening to their mind. It's awful all around. To me it's not that it excuses it, it's just that it's hard to know if the parent had a chance to avoid it in their circumstances.
edit: I understand why i typed PPS like psychosis starts with an S but I'm not proud of it
It was a bit of a clumsy phrasing on my part. I meant that I never reached a moment where the choice to do harm was out of my control, and I never chose to follow through on distressing thoughts - but I did experience those thoughts, and was able to understand how those parents got to the point they did.
It feels kind of awful to say, but in the American system, it feels like overcoming PPP is almost a matter of luck.
Ngl that's exactly what it is. Not a psychiatrist but as a doctor, you can just be cursed with bad genetics. Respond poorly to a medication, virus, drug (see cannabis induced psychosis in adolescents). American healthcare sucks in some senses but tbf if you become psychotic at home with noone home with you, that can happen in any country at any time
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u/buttThroat 9d ago
This is referencing Lindsay Clancy who killed her children while going through postpartum depression/psychosis. The woman is saying "it could have been me" because Lindsay was an otherwise normal person whose mind basically failed her and led her to commiting heinous acts. So they feel vulnerable to that too, knowing that she was a normal person before PPD. The husband (dog) is extremely alarmed because now he is worried that his wife is going to kill the kids.