The Story Of Miriam Carey: A Preventable Tragedy?

Delirium Today | By: +Maria Y
Posted: 12/31/2013

It's been [over] two months now since the Washington DC incident with Miriam Carey, who tried to drive up to the White House, was chased away by the police, led them on a high speed chase and was then shot. Tragically, she had her child in the backseat. It later came out that Carey was suffering from severe postpartum depression, and had been battling mental illness for quite a while. She apparently believed that President Obama was stalking her because she was the "prophet of Stamford" (Stamford Connecticut, where she was from) and thought that people were videotaping her through her windows. She had even made a 911 called to this effect and was apparently hearing voices and trying to get to the President. She also had recently lost her job, suffered a bad fall, and was in serious financial trouble. Naturally there was the obligatory misogyny, racism, and making fun of mental illness all over the Internet; unfortunately that's come to be expected whenever something like this happens.

But the incident also sparked several discussions on mental illness and lack of adequate care for those who are mentally ill; especially women and minorities. It's become common knowledge that her family, especially her boyfriend, wanted her to get more help and feared for her and their baby, even worrying that she might hurt the baby. He called and reported these concerns to the cops, which resulted in them coming over to place the baby [in] temporary care. Carey however, did not want to let them have the baby; as she was afraid that the whole thing was being broadcast on national television. As a result she was cuffed and taken to the hospital, but didn't stay there very long before she was released, reported by The Daily Beast.

Her family, seemingly out of embarrassment, now denies having any type of mental disorder, and now wants the FBI to investigate the incident. Yet it was common knowledge among her family and friends that she was having trouble, and even now they still say she was a "troubled soul."

Several members of her family had encouraged her to get help. She did get some [help it seemed] -- when they searched her home, they found all sorts of mood medications and medications for schizophrenia.  The meds apparently had helped some [it was reported and she had a] brief hospitalization, but when she stopped taking her meds, things may have spiraled out of control.

Not long after this incident, I remember participating in a discussion where people were debating: "Should her family have forced her to get care?" Some said they were negligent for not doing so; which isn't exactly fair because they could hardly have predicted what would happen. Others talked about free will, is it fair to force someone to get help? Carey was not violent in any way.

Another defining question of this whole incident was: why was she shot? That was something that I myself wondered. I understand security is tight, that someone trying to get near the president is of course a concern; but this was not an armed terrorist, and it became clear pretty quickly that the woman was unarmed and she had a child in the backseat. Instead of shooting her, why didn't they shoot out the tires of her car so she couldn't drive off and come and get her? She could've been sedated, taken to the hospital, and given care.  It may not of been the best scenario, but she would've been alive. Now her child is not only going to have to grow up without a mother, everyone is going to know how her mother died and how sick she was. It seems that too often, the police shoot first and ask questions later, [especially in mental health cases]; even nonviolent ones. Well in this case (which was unique because of the presidential factor), supposedly it was mostly because of the security issue, and them worrying that she might have a car bomb, reported by MSNBC.

Surely something could've been done differently to help this poor woman. I'm sure it became obvious to her doctors after she gave birth that she had postpartum depression, which is not exactly an uncommon problem. Why was she not given more counseling? Was there a follow up? In some hospitals, counseling after birth to ascertain a woman's mental health status is mandatory. Would that have saved Carey? Had her family had been more forceful about her getting help more consistently, had the police not acted as rashly, would she still be with us?

No one can definitively answer these questions, but our entire society should treat this experience as a learning one, and use it as an excuse to change police reactions and take a look at the status of mental health care in this country, especially for postpartum women, the disabled, the poor, LGBT, minorities, etc. We should work to reduce the stigma around mental health. I'm sure this was at least one of the reasons Carey feared getting consistent mental health care. The new Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) has provisions that are finally going to make mental disorders more affordable;  a definite step in the right direction.

An innocent women who is guilty of nothing more than being a victim of an illness is dead. Her death need not be in vain, but we as a society have to start constructively talking about this, and to listen to the lessons such circumstances teach us. How many more Miriam Carey's have to die before we take Mental Health Care seriously?

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Degrees Of Mental Illness: Is There a Sliding Scale?

Big roller coaster vs. smaller one; "major mental" illness vs. "more moderate"
one; is one really less serious/dangerous than the other?

Minor mental illness—is there actually such a thing? Personally, I would say no. To hear such a thing as more minor mental illness (as compared to more severe mental illnesses), but I would never say any mental illnesses are "minor." It's never a good idea to judge somebody else's illnesses as minor.

  

Still, American Psychological Association, too many mental health workers, and people in general consider certain mental illnesses [to be] worse than others. Schizophrenia  and Schizoaffective disorder for example are considered among the worst, and anything with the word "schizo" is just consider horrifying, even if the person's symptoms aren't. Personality disorders such as Antisocial personality disorder are truly at the bottom; and many people wonder if they even belong in the psychological dichotomy, or if they are just character issues. Depression seems to have become more mainstream overall, especially after the Prozac craze. Not to say that it is becoming easier for people with Depression symptom wise, but the disorder is more well known and more accepted, even if not fully understood by mainstream culture. 




Bipolar disorder is sometimes co-opted by celebrities and used as an excuse for drug use, and is sometimes thought of as a "fun, creative diagnosis" by those that don't know [all the facts]. Even with this gross misunderstanding, enough famous people have actually [helping these] disorders become mainstream in local, national and social media outlets. Most people with Depression and Bipolar disorder are not viewed as having a great potential for violence. This definitely doesn't hold true for diseases like Schizophrenia even though only one percent of schizophrenics show violent symptoms (personality disorders on the other hand often have a legitimate link with violence unfortunately). There are also many degrees of different types of mental illness which can become more or less severe overtime, especially if there's a genetic component. 




In high school, I developed Cyclothymia, which considered a more minor version of Bipolar disorder . The mood swings of Cyclothymia go between Dysthymia and [Hypomania] instead of severe Depression and Mania. I later found out that both my father and my grandfather suffered from this as well. As 50 percent of people with Cyclothymia go on to develop full blown Bipolar, I've developed full blown Bipolar II with Cyclothymic features (it's possible to have both). People with Bipolar disorder are also much more likely to have at least one relative with Cyclothymia.




Cyclothymia (which may be renamed Bipolar III—a move I wholly support), as well as other more "minor" mental illnesses, (Dysthymia, lighter versions of Schizophrenia, etc.) are not well known, sometimes not even by those in the mental health industry. Consequently, because people with these are often more high functioning than their counterparts with more severe mental illness, and are better at hiding it (I know I did for years but it wasn't easy), these illnesses are too often dismissed as "easy to deal with." From my own personal experience, I know that while they may be "easier" to deal with, they are definitely not easy. This [mindset] encourages a culture of silence, and also sets a dangerous precedent. 




People with [a] more minor mental illness often do not get help, raising their chances of developing a [serious outcome to] mental [health] down the road. I know that turned out to be the case with me and friends who have been in similar situations. I didn't feel that I have very many people to turn to. I was able to do some research, and I suspected that what I had was a more minor version of Bipolar, but I couldn't find a name for it, or any information indicating that it was a good idea to get help. Most people I talked to also did not know this, and I was encouraged by both well meaning and not well meaning people to "just deal with it". If at least one of us had known better and I reached out for some kind of treatment back then, perhaps I I may not have gone on to develop any other mental illnesses.




Many of those with [varying degrees] of mental health issues wind up going into the mental health profession because they want to help others like themselves and those that have more severe illnesses; they also tend to be more sympathetic of mental illness in general. I know my experiences definitely made me more sympathetic and willing to listen.


It is the responsibility of everybody in the mental health field to educate ourselves as well as mainstream culture about all mental illnesses and their various degrees. There is no such thing as a "minor mental illness," and knowing that can mean the difference between developing something more severe later, and getting necessary help in the present. We owe each other that.

Note: All opinions expressed on Delirium Today are the feelings/ideas of our columnist, mental health professionals or experts. Our goal is to see different points-of-views in the lives of people that are living with mental health issues—we are here to tell their stories. 

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