psychiatry

Chris Knight's avatar

A few days ago I shared some cursory thoughts about Lindsay Clancy and her murder trial.  What immediately shocked me was the sheer number of medications that she was on.  As a former mental health professional, as someone with a mental health condition myself who has experienced issues with meds, I was absolutely floored by all the drugs that Clancy was taking.  What I was thinking most was about the very significant probability of drug interactions that would have possibly clouded her senses, including her moral judgement.

Intrigued, I looked into the case further.  One friend alluded that he couldn’t believe I had been unaware of this trial going on.  What can I say?  I’ve been very busy lately: everything from starting a new job to getting a new car, to the past few days when I’ve been working on a horror story (that will absolutely outrage some people ...

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Chris Knight's avatar

Illustrating how out of touch I am with much of current events, this morning I finally educated myself about the Lindsay Clancy murder trial.  Clancy is being prosecuted for the 2023 murders of her three young children.  The defense is arguing that Clancy was suffering from psychiatric issues, including postpartum depression.  If convicted she would get life in prison without parole and if she’s found not guilty she’s looking at being incarcerated in a psychiatric hospital for a long, long time.

I guess I should have been keeping up with with this all along, given my background in mental health as both patient and professional.

 

So I just finished reading about Clancy’s medical history.  And two words come to mind…

Sweet Jesus.

This woman was on WAY too many medications.  With that wild variety of drugs in her system, it’s no wonder that things were going to go bad. ...

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Chris Knight's avatar

There are quite a few people who’ve told me that they appreciate when I share about my experiences with bipolar disorder.  Doing so has helped them better understand what it is to have a condition like this.  I suppose it helps me too.  Writing about it gives me that much more strength over something that really should have killed me years ago already.  So here is another report from the wacky world of manic depression!

This morning I saw my counselor for the first time in several months.  Getting as much substitute teaching in as I can has prevented me from adequately addressing my overall mental health as much as I really should have been doing.  Controlling my bipolar disorder involves many things.  Medication and counseling are two of those, and they work hand in hand.  The meds restore a measure of control and the counseling helps me develop tools ...

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Chris Knight's avatar

Being Bipolar is a series that began in the
winter of 2011.  It’s an occasional attempt to explore aspects of the
life of a person with manic-depression, or bipolar disorder if you will.  It’s never meant to be a regular feature of The Knight Shift.
 It comes along whenever “the time is nigh” for another installment is called for.  In this series I do my best to be
as honest and forthcoming about this condition as possible, within
reason.  As with anything else of this kind of subject matter, it
should be noted that I am not a medical professional.  So don’t take
anything written here as solid medical advice in the way of drugs etc.
 If you need immediate assistance, please go to the emergency rom of the
nearest hospital, or call 911 on your phone.  You may also find a great
deal of assistance from a local support ...

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Chris Knight's avatar

Today’s blog post sort of suggested itself, in the wake of events during the past three days.  Maybe what I’m about to say will help others who are finding themselves in the grip of depression, or some other mental health situation.

You see, this week my path has crossed those of two people who I care about: one in my personal life and another who I know from my work as a professional peer support specialist.  Each of them is having an emotional crisis.  Much like the ones I have had at various times over the course of the last twenty-some years.

In each case, I have suggested that inpatient care at a behavioral health facility should be considered.  Checking one’s self into a specialized hospital for a few days or a week or so.  Letting trained doctors and staff work with a patient toward reigning in their depressive or ...

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Chris Knight's avatar

This blog has been operational for sixteen(!) years now, and it’s covered a lot of territory.  Everything from pop culture to weird news to chronicling my run for political office and anything in between.  It’s shown readers the inside of a nuclear power plant, to the ancient sanctity of Orthodox Christianity.

But it hasn’t depicted everything about my life.  Though there have been times that I’ve shared glimpses of personal frustration and tragedy, most of what happens on this side of the screen has been shrouded from my audience.  It’s been a common lament of mine: how it seems that everyone I know gets to display their blessings and joy over Facebook while I’ve come up empty in those regards.  And then I’m reminded that people only show the good things on social media, not the bad.  So if that’s a crime, then I suppose I’m just as guilty.

However, ...

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Chris Knight's avatar

This past weekend Matthew Warren – the son of Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church and author of The Purpose Driven Life – took his own life after struggling for years with mental illness.  In the wake of this tragedy there has already been considerable reflection by many among the body of Christ about mental illness and what our reaction should be to it.

Ed Stetzer, the president of LifeWay Research, has a very good guest essay on CNN.com.  Titled “My Take: How churches can respond to mental illness”, Stetzer relates his own experiences with Christians plagued with such conditions and how churches should and should not approach it.  From his article…

The first time I dealt with mental illness in church was with a man named Jim. I was young and idealistic – a new pastor serving in upstate New York. Jim was a godsend to us.

...
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