4 Possible Reasons Why Lashandra Armstrong Drowned Her Children

By Total Life CounselingPublished On: April 13th, 20112.2 min read

Tuesday evening, in New York, Lashandra Armstrong, a mother of four young children drove her minivan into the Hudson river. Her 10 year old child managed to escape the sinking van while everyone else drowned. This news is an incredibly heart wrenching and tragic story.

Questions on everyone’s mind is a mother go from loving and caring for her children one minute and then driving into a river the next?

4 Possible Reasons that Lead to this Tragedy

1. Temporary Insanity: The news stated that there was a “domestic dispute” moments before she took the children and loaded them up in her van. Intense stress or domestic disputes can cause anyones anger to get to a point of temporary insanity which can cause us to say and do things we w0uld not normally do if we take the time to cool off and walk away.

2. Lack of Support: It is a shocking reminder of parents’ need for support. Being a single parent or having a child with special needs or suffering from post partum depression or dealing with domestic violence can put an extra strain on a family.

3. Depression: One news article stated that this mother had recently said “I feel so alone.” Feeling alone and isolated compounds stress and depression.

4. Post-Partum: She also had an 11 month old infant and may have been struggling with Post-Partum Depression.

While not exhaustive, other signs to look out for are any of the following:

7 Signs to Identify someone at the end of their Rope

overly frustrated or angry with their child(ren) beyond what is considered typical
depression
extremely overwhelmed, i.e. “I can’t do this anymore”
showing signs of mental instability
talks about wanting a “different” life or openly talks about suicide
withdrawn from contact with others
exhibiting significant personality changes or sudden, extreme mood swings

If you know anyone showing any of these signs or symptoms, please reach out to that person. If you are experiencing these symptoms, you can talk to a friend, parent, pastor or someone else who can help. You can call a medical doctor, therapist, social worker, hospital, or another professional who can help you and guide you to appropriate resources. If you or a loved one are activity suicidal, please call 911 immediately. Also, the National Suicide Prevention Line is 800-273-8255 (TALK).

Resources:

NAMI

National Institute for Mental Health

Contact your local hospital or the United Way for more even resources which can help.

Reference:

Mayo Clinic

Article Edited by Jim West, MA, LMHC, NCC

NOTE: You can freely redistribute this resource, electronically or in print, provided you leave the authors contact information intact.

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