Message #11185

[energizer]

RadarO: Selfishness or psychosis?  What makes that "news announcer" an expert on the subject?  I beg here for a little compassion and understanding.  I'm not condoning what this mother did to her poor children, but as one other poster said, there must be something missing in the story as we're getting from the media.



My sister (age 43) has a history of depression dating back to her high school days.  Of course back then they didn't treat it medically -- they hid it if at all possible so as to minimize the "embarrassment" to the family!  When she was 37, she found that she was pregnant.  She wanted nothing more than to have this baby, as she had several miscarriages over the previous 10 years and really wanted a child.  Her daughter happily is now almost 12 years old.  But immediately after her daughter was born, my sister suffered a severe bout of PPD.  She seriously considered suicide, but thankfully thought first of her daughter growing up without a mom.  She called our mother and asked her to stay with her for a few weeks until she felt better.  Mom stayed almost 3 months.  During that time, my sister found a doctor who recognized her symptoms and began a treatment with medication in addition to recommending therapy.  When the depression finally lifted, my sister was able to confide in me about her thoughts of suicide.  She said that the main reason she asked my mom to come was that she briefly considered taking her daughter with her in the suicide so that she wouldn't be left without a mother.  Thank God she realized what she was thinking and was able to counteract her own faulty reasoning by reaching out to mom.  So many times, depression completely blocks out all rational thinking and all the person can do is react to the moment.



According to her doctor, my sister's long history of depression was caused in part by a chemical imbalance in the brain.  She will probably need medication for the rest of her life, although not on a daily basis.  Right now she takes it only when she feels herself starting to slip.  And when she has PMS -- another "real" condition.



So again I ask for a little compassion and understanding for the mother who took the lives of her beautiful children.  My sister and I were discussing this just the other night, and she said that this is something that unfortunate woman will have to live with for the rest of her life.  If she gets the therapy (and possibly medication) she needs to regain her proper perspective on life, just think of the devastation that will always remain with her because of what she has done.  I'm not prone to depression myself, but I cannot imagine living with that kind of horror hanging over my head.



I know this was a very long post, but I just needed to offer a different perspective.  Don't be so quick to judge someone else's state of mind.  Try a little compassion first.



Thanks for letting me share my thoughts.



Energizer