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Lashanda Armstrong kills herself and her kids in the Hudson River claims she was victim of abuse


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Lashanda Armstrong, who drowned self & kids in Hudson, struggled with mental issues, stress: experts

BY Barry Paddock

NY DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

 

Thursday, April 14th 2011

 

 

"Lashanda Armstrong's decision to drown herself and her kids was likely triggered when stress from a fight with her husband collided with her mental problems, experts say.

 

"Whatever fight they had might have been the last straw in her mind," said Dr. Steven Tuber, a professor of psychology at the City College of New York who specializes in children and families.

 

"You're really talking about two processes that collide to create this kind of tragedy."

 

People with longstanding mental problems can be easily driven over the edge by temporary situational stress, Tuber said.

 

"If you run into a terrible argument, you immediately feel like the world is awful, the world will stay awful, you have no reason to live," Tuber said.

 

There are a range of possible reasons Armstrong didn't just hurt herself, but her children too, experts said.

 

She may have been furious with her kids, trying to punish her husband, or even believed death was a way to protect her children.

 

"She could have felt the kids couldn't survive without her and would be better off in heaven," said Dr. Susan Coates, a professor in Columbia University's psychology department.

 

Armstrong was likely suffering postpartum psychosis, Coates believes, after the birth of her 11-month old daughter.

 

Pediatricians should be trained to look for signs of depression in parents, Coates said, because they are often the only doctors mothers see.

 

"We need a mental health system that can pick it up quickly and treat it aggressively," Coates said. "Very few people that get that depressed get help on their own."

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Surprised no one here posted this. This tragic story has gotten national news attention and this is all what most people up here in Hudson Valley has been discussing the last few days. It has scary similarties to the infamous Susan Smith case from South Carolina about 15 years ago.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Smith

 

 

 

Lashanda Armstrong, who drowned self & kids in Hudson, struggled with mental issues, stress: experts

BY Barry Paddock

NY DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

 

Thursday, April 14th 2011

 

 

"Lashanda Armstrong's decision to drown herself and her kids was likely triggered when stress from a fight with her husband collided with her mental problems, experts say.

 

"Whatever fight they had might have been the last straw in her mind," said Dr. Steven Tuber, a professor of psychology at the City College of New York who specializes in children and families.

 

"You're really talking about two processes that collide to create this kind of tragedy."

 

People with longstanding mental problems can be easily driven over the edge by temporary situational stress, Tuber said.

 

"If you run into a terrible argument, you immediately feel like the world is awful, the world will stay awful, you have no reason to live," Tuber said.

 

There are a range of possible reasons Armstrong didn't just hurt herself, but her children too, experts said.

 

She may have been furious with her kids, trying to punish her husband, or even believed death was a way to protect her children.

 

"She could have felt the kids couldn't survive without her and would be better off in heaven," said Dr. Susan Coates, a professor in Columbia University's psychology department.

 

Armstrong was likely suffering postpartum psychosis, Coates believes, after the birth of her 11-month old daughter.

 

Pediatricians should be trained to look for signs of depression in parents, Coates said, because they are often the only doctors mothers see.

 

"We need a mental health system that can pick it up quickly and treat it aggressively," Coates said. "Very few people that get that depressed get help on their own."

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I said in the lagbox a while back, that you're gonna hear about more people committing suicides b/w this "recession" period & the 12/21/12 BS.....

 

 

....but I mean damn, don't take the kids along with you....

Give them a chance to live out their lives... not their fault you never wanted to prolong your own...

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Sad. Sad that the Mom felt that suicide and killing her kids in the process was the only way to solve her problems. Sad that that her family has lost a daughter, niece, cousin, etc... So sad that the kids in the car will never have the life that they should have had. We might have lost a president. We might have lost a doctor or God knows what but I'm so sad to know that they were caught in the middle of something that they should never have been a part of.

 

Even more sad is that the surviving child of the mom has to live with the memory of seeing his mom kill herself, his brothers and sister and her trying to kill him. I can't even try to imagine what this kid is going through. I just pray that he has a strong support system behind him so that he will be able to live his life as normally as he can and not act out in a way that will inflict harm on someone else and himself. I hope that he doesn't feel guilty for what has happened because it wasn't his fault. Living a life a guilt, sorrow and condemnation is a HORRIBLE way to live and I don't wish that on anyone. May God be with the boy and his family in this time of loss and sorrow.

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