<font color="darkblue">[b]I really don't focus so much on the insane/temporary insane idea...it was just another avenue of the story.

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
people like to pretend we're normal

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

How true this is. I personally believe Andrea Yates was and is mentally ill. Other's KNEW she was mentally ill: spouse, MIL, doctors and probably all the friends of the family, imo. She was the 900lb Gorilla in the room.

IDK but would like to know what the system had done, really, and what the reports from the doctors said, and why, why, why they made the decisions THEY did. The spouse obviously didn't respond as we would hope a caring, loving spouse would. We don't really know why. He didn't seem to really care, or see a threat, or maybe he was numb from caring???

Andrea Yates received her information from God somehow. Either the family was religious in nature, her's growing up, or the one she married into. That's another area I would like to know the truth about... where, and what church and all that. IDK other than psychotics who has this type of belief without some previous training.

I know many ppl who have real fervency for God. There are plenty of names from the secular world for what they do and how they act. None of them are mentally ill from the doing (though some might be "on the side.") In many realms, God does speak. If you have ever EVER "known" something that was in reality unable to know except through the supernatural... and had proof that what you "knew" later was true or happened... then you have an inkling of what it feels like, to know "the will of God."

I'm not declaring that Andrea Yates WAS hearing God's beckoning to send her children on to Him before they followed her evil and went to hell. But what is important is ANDREA believed He was. The compulsion is overwhelming.

Have you never become passionate about something? Can you gain an inkling of a feeling about internal motivation to perform? Can you imagine adding mental illness to the mix?

IDK why Andrea didn't also end her own life. That is probably the most puzzling thing for me right now. Perhaps since she "knew" she was already going to hell, why rush? IDK. I'll continue to think about this.

I'm sure there are stats about the number of ppl who plan their own suicide, or homocide, or even homocide-suicide. Are not these people also mentally ill? (Excluding those who self die due to having a fatal illness anyway.)

How many of us here have planned "something" out... for how many years? How many ways, how many times? Well planned, thought out. That's a rhetorical question, I don't expect anyone to offer up any admission. Would you consider anyone who is thinking about this to be mentally WELL? I don't.

Add in the desperation Andrea Yates felt. The urgency. When someone, even mentall ill person, has time -or feels they have time- to continue to think and work on their "plan" then it remains a plan... there has to be something that forces their hand, imo. Some feeling of NOW OR NEVER... some urgency... something that gives them the idea that things aren't going to get better...

Just more of my musing.