One could argue that a suicide or homicide is the responsibility of an entire community. For whatever reason, whether it be stigma or simply a lack of resources and doctors she felt comfortable with, Yates was unable to get all the help she needed to overcome her mental illness, and the entire community suffered heartbreak and confusion because of this- the worst of the suffering belonging to 5 innocent children; first losing their caring and energetic mother- then losing their own lives.
Andrea Yates was not a monster or the face of evil and carelessness- she was sick. Sick, in a sense that none of us understand. The brain is incredibly powerful. From my own experience with OCD, I can honestly say that compulsions are not a choice and for me, even the most pragmatic reasoning cannot overpower fear that drives compulsions. Being placed in a position of a terrifying swell of psychosis, none of us are in the position to say that we would be able to control our actions either. If we look at her now, Yates does not condone her actions- she likely would not have killed her children if she wasn’t suffering from the paranoia, hallucinations and delusions associated with psychosis. When an extremely sick person is at the verge of suicide or homicide it is simply because they cannot see another way out. No one wants to experience psychosis or depression- if she knew how to make it better it’s likely she would have. In fact, she made attempts at controlling her mental illness, but it seemed as though nothing was working and she was ignored when she cried out for help.
I wonder, would people have had the same reaction had her psychosis had only suicidal tendencies rather than suicidal and homicidal? People pity those suffering with suicidal depression, yet we ostracize those with homicidal psychosis or antisocial personality disorder. I don’t think that homicide should be easily excused, but I do believe that it should be explained and understood pragmatically. Andrea Yates deserves to have her situation understood- instead of seeing the murders as a gruesome act of disgust and evil , the situation needs to be seen as what it is- a terrible consequence of an untreated mental illness that could have been prevented if others had seen how greatly she was suffering.
This is really well written. I think that it brings up a good point that our society is quick to shame those with mental illnesses. I like that you did not excuse what she did but rather explained what drove Yates to kill her children.
ReplyDeleteI think you bring up an excellent point Sophie, Andrea Yates was very sick, she wasn't what I would call a "cold blooded killer". Mental illness is something that should be taken VERY seriously. My twin brother has a pretty severe case of Autism, and watching her case really made me think about him, sure he is not psychotic, but what if his case was untreated. Andrea Yates was untreated and her condition went to the extreme by committing the act of murdering her own children. It was really sad to watch and realized that it probably would have been possible to prevent this from happening if it was taken seriously. She was turned away multiple times even though it was clear she was very mentally sick. Thank you for posting this, I think you did it in a clear and excellent way.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question about whether people would have had the same reaction had her psychosis had only suicidal tendencies rather than suicidal and homicidal, I think that they would have treated it differently. There are thousands of people who suffer from suicidal thoughts around us. Hurting yourself is much different from hurting others though, so showing just the urge to hurt yourself may come off less alarming to others. Of course, her family and friends would not want to her feel that way about herself, but once she has the urge to hurt someone else, that is when they really realized that she needed help. It is also hard to say how people would react to the situation because in the end, she was "taken by satan". She has much more going on than just being suicidal or homicidal. I think that overall, she should have gotten help much earlier to prevent what had happened, but no one really handled it correctly.
ReplyDeleteAlthough she definitely should have received more help than she did, I don't want to suggest that people with psychosis should always be carefully watched for violent tendencies, even when they seem fine. As it turns out, people with mental illnesses are actually LESS likely to be violent than healthy people. Is it worth potentially infringing on the rights of people with mental illnesses to offset the rare chance of them hurting someone? I'm not entirely sure of that.
ReplyDeleteAlthough she definitely should have received more help than she did, I don't want to suggest that people with psychosis should always be carefully watched for violent tendencies, even when they seem fine. As it turns out, people with mental illnesses are actually LESS likely to be violent than healthy people. Is it worth potentially infringing on the rights of people with mental illnesses to offset the rare chance of them hurting someone? I'm not entirely sure of that.
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