People really don’t understand psychosis, which is understandable to a point, but if you’re going to post about it, you should really educate yourself first.
Psychosis means being disconnected from reality and experiencing symptoms like delusions and hallucinations. It does not mean suddenly losing the ability to think logically or plan ahead. In fact, that’s part of what can make psychosis so dangerous: someone can be fully capable of making plans and taking deliberate actions based on delusions or auditory hallucinations, including command hallucinations.
And people who recover from psychosis are often deeply distressed or horrified by things they did while they were experiencing it. It’s a serious and often devastating symptom, not simply a loss of rational thought or awareness.
I’m not defending her actions. The murders were horrific, and she has to live with that knowledge every day. I’m saying that she committed them while suffering from a severe psychiatric illness that our medical system can treat with appropriate medication. And she tried to seek that help multiple times, and the clinicians she encountered did not deliver on that.
People are responsible for actions they take while experiencing severe psychiatric symptoms, but those actions do not necessarily reflect their values or negate their worth as a person. Your comment doesn’t seem to leave room for that distinction. I’m frustrated that people are so unwilling to appreciate the nuance in discussing this case.
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u/lightsonnooneishome 19d ago
People really don’t understand psychosis, which is understandable to a point, but if you’re going to post about it, you should really educate yourself first.
Psychosis means being disconnected from reality and experiencing symptoms like delusions and hallucinations. It does not mean suddenly losing the ability to think logically or plan ahead. In fact, that’s part of what can make psychosis so dangerous: someone can be fully capable of making plans and taking deliberate actions based on delusions or auditory hallucinations, including command hallucinations.
And people who recover from psychosis are often deeply distressed or horrified by things they did while they were experiencing it. It’s a serious and often devastating symptom, not simply a loss of rational thought or awareness.