In 2001, the nation was shocked into questioning the systems in which help the mentally ill. On June 20th, seemly picture perfect housewife, Andrea Yates, drowned her five children in the bathtub. Rusty Yates, Andrea’s husband, left for his job prior to his mother being able to arrive to the Yates household to help oversee Andrea and her children. For several years prior, after her first child, Andrea had come down with postpartum depression. With each and every pregnancy, it became far worse until she had develop postpartum psychosis. Although rare but with her genetically being prone to it and with having kids one after another without heeding the advice of her doctor, she suffered psychotic breakdown far worse than her previous breakdowns. Led to the tragedy of June 20th and the nation questioning what it really means to assist those with mental sickness. All this started with media, exposing Andrea’s mental issues to the limelight and people starting to question postpartum depression and psychosis can really affect a mother’s mentality. …show more content…
As Suzy Spencer, a reporter following the case and author of the book Breaking Point, pointed out that many of the people she interviewed said “This could never happen in my family. My wife would never do that.” Thus during the first trial, although no one disputed Andrea as being sane in the time of the murder, the court dismissed her claims of madness. They sentenced her to life in prison in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice with the qualification for parole in forty years. However this decision led to the public and the media to question how can mental illness affect a person’s judgement and how mental illness should be
After reading chapters one and two of the Psychology in Everyday Life book and learning about the four big ideas in psychology, and also while trying to figure out the contributing factors of Andrea Yates’ murder of her children. I have to focus in on and think about big idea two, the biopsychosocial approach, that integrates three levels which are biological, psychological and social/cultural; all together these factors influence and give insight into behavior and mental processes. (CITE BOOK) After reviewing these, the psychological factors that I believe to have contributed to Andrea Yates’ murder of her children are, firstly biological, Andrea had a genetic predispositions, which means Andrea had an increased likelihood of developing
Houston, Texas, was home to Andrea Yates; a wife and a mother to Randy Yates and their five children. One morning in the year 2001, she dialed, 911 breathing heavily into the phone “I need a police officer,” (O’Malley). The news over Andrea Yates drowning her children spread like wildfire across the nation, horrifying Americans. Following her confession, she pleaded innocent with the “Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity” (NGRI) plea, yet the jury rejected her appeal and found her guilty of five accounts of first-degree murder. However, in the retrial of 2006, Yates’ abiding murder convictions were overturned, and Andrea Yates was found NGRI.
Andrea was diagnosed with depression more than once. After her first depression episode, she was given medication by her doctor and finally seemed back to her normal self again. After her first episode of depression, Andrea was advised to not have anymore kids because having more kids would very likely lead her to struggle with depression again. Andrea did end up having another kid, and her father passed away, and both factors lead her to severe depression once again. As a result, Andrea was hospitalized and given medication once again.
Context. Postnatal depression is one of the most frequent difficulties viewed as behavioral issues and mental sickness/problems in women about four to six weeks after giving birth. It’s a major public health issue given its prevalence and impact not only on mothers and babies but also to their households as well. However, untreated postnatal depression is well-known to suffer adverse results such as unfavorable parenting practices and impaired mother-baby bonding, which in return is known to affect rationale and emotional growth of the baby. The gravest, of course, is maternal suicide and infanticide.
1. Please first reflect on the personal element of the Andrea Yates story - do you feel/not feel sympathetic toward Andrea? Why or why not? In your opinion what does her personal/home life look like? Do you perceive her as healthy/insane?
There’s no way in this world that I would allow myself to see my brother or my sister live on the streets. No one is born into homelessness; some have just been through a series of unfortunate events in their lives that led them to live as homeless individuals. For others, it's a case of psychological problems. No matter what family you come from, everybody is born for a reason. I believe that we all have one purpose in this life on our quest to becoming better people, and that is to take care of one another here on earth.
Mental illnesses have a high prevalence amongst the United States population. Each year, tens of millions of individuals suffer and are affected by mental illnesses (National Institute of Mental Health, 1). These illnesses range from anxiety disorder, eating disorders, major depression, personality disorder, and many more. Yet, with the existing knowledge, mental providers and professionals, and the DSM-5, mental illness remains a growing mystery to the public. Literature has played a significant role in how mental illnesses are defined, their characteristics, and the portrayal of those who are mentally ill to the public eye.
With medical institutions prescribing anti-depressants and other pills that either help with little success or don’t help at all, is the younger generation safe in the hands of a mentally ill parent, and does mental instability morally justify the neglect of a child? For an example, “White Oleander” written by Janet Fitch features a young girl named Astrid who lives amidst the boundaries of the foster care system, and Fitch depicts Astrid’s coming-of-age story. Through thick and thin, Astrid learned to handle the reins of life in several different houses, each with different rules and different expectations. Claire, one of Astrid’s more notable foster mothers, was mostly likely suffering from depression and paranoia throughout the duration of her time with Astrid.
“The Department of Justice report found: of spouses killed by spouse 12.3 percent of defendants had a history of untreated mental illness; of children killed by parent 15.8 percent of defendants had a history of untreated mental illness; of parents killed by children 25.1 percent of defendants had a history of untreated mental illness; and of siblings killed by sibling 17.3 percent of defendants had a history of untreated mental illness”
This is the case with Susanna, who is the autobiographical main character of the book. She provides a perfect reason as to why it is important that mental illness must be talked about more. Susanna is admitted to the McLean Hospital after she attempts suicide and is then diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. She is at first convinced that there is nothing wrong for her, which is something that many patients go through, and is one of the important reasons that mental illness should be discussed more.
“It won’t happen to you, honey. Some people go crazy and some never do. You never will,”(1). “Silver Water” is a short story about a girl with a mental illness that was written by Amy Bloom. The story is told from Violet’s, Rose’s sister, point of view about Rose and what she goes through.
The 2000’s was a very intense decade, with the occurrence of 9/11 which led to the War in Iraq. A year after 2000, HBO released a documentary named “Bellevue, inside Out” by Maryann DeLeo. In this documentary, the viewer gets to take a look inside Bellevue Hospital located in New York City, which contains a psychiatric institution. The film captures about 12 months inside the psychiatric unit in this hospital. The documentary follows both the employees, such as the emergency room directors, psychiatrists, nurses, etc., as well as the patients admitted into the psychiatric emergency room.
Two women from Texas, Andrea Yates, 37 and Darlie Routier, 27 both shocked the world when they brutally murdered their children. Both women were described as wonderful mothers who loved their children, but were also described as having post-partum issues during the last years of their children’s lives. Andrea Yates admitted to her harsh crimes and was willing to take any punishment that was given, as she believed she was saving her children’s souls. On the other hand, Darlie Routier did not admitted her crimes towards her children. Darlie Routier pleaded not guilty, but prosecutors believed differently after many conflicts appeared in her story.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the narrator, Jane, has postpartum depression. In order to cure this depression, John, Jane’s husband and a doctor, administer the rest treatment on her. Gilman wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper” through her personal experience. Along with writing “The Yellow Wallpaper” she wrote an explanation for why she wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper.”
Mental Illness affects an immense amount of individuals no matter their race, culture or age. It is everywhere we go, yet still an issue some choose to ignore; whether it is the person facing the illness or those around them. People handle their sickness in a variety of ways. Some by using violence as their only answer, others run away from their issue and majority choose to accept and make the best of it. After reading the novel The Secret Life of Bees, it would be easy to think that the main theme is discrimination or family, but in reality it is actually focused on the toll that mental illness takes on a family.