This whole Erhart case and then the Clancy case have my mind reeling. The wrongs committed in both cases are heartbreaking. Mental illness may or may not carry some of the culpability. I’ve seen a post on Facebook recently with the caption, “We are all Lindsay Clancy.”

Are we?

Are all postpartum moms capable of these atrocious things?

I know what I went through as a new, young mom with a colicky baby, and I suffered from PPD. Every day was a battle. I loved my baby boy with my whole heart. He made my heart sing, my eyes shine with love, my heart thump in amazement, and brought such smiles to my face.

But I also dealt with fear, extreme sadness, anxiety, more fear, more anxiety, lack of sleep and overwhelm. His father worked, and the relationship was extremely unhealthy. We were not kind to one another. There were some physical altercations. Twenty months later, we had another baby, so more postpartum along with everything that was already there.

So, are we all Lindsay Clancy?

It’s so hard because we are NOT, but we very well COULD BE. And that’s the scariest part about cases such as these two.

In my case, I sought help eventually. But with SHAME AND FEAR. Shame that I was a mom who loved her children more than herself, but felt like I was failing them. Fear, and this is somehow worse, that I would lose my children because of my mental state. Not as in death, but as in my parental rights.

No mother should EVER feel these two things because of her mental health.

But how are children protected in this unpredictability?

By God’s grace and mercy, my children and I came through. But life didn’t get easier. All the broken parts of their father and me became their burden. Eventually, the youngest of the two took his life, but that’s not the point here. That’s a whole other story within itself.

The point is mental health.

So, I ask again: are we all Lindsay Clancy or possibly Kailey Erhart?

Definitively, no. We are not. But we very well COULD BE.

#PostpartumDepression #PostpartumMentalHealth #MentalHealthAwareness #EndTheStigma #CompassionMatters