If you were a 25 year old woman with four children, a job at a fast food restaurant, no electricity in your trailer, and a restraining order against your last boyfriend, what would you do?
I just asked my kid this question, and his answer was “rob a bank,” god bless him. I didn’t even think of that and neither did Gilberta Estrada. Instead, she hung herself and her children this morning. The baby survived, rescued by Gilberta’s sister. They lived in Hudson Oaks, Texas, where less than five years ago, another mother shot her three children before killing herself.
Andrea Yates lived in Texas and so did Deanna Laney, who beat her two young sons to death in 2003. There are more, but you get the point. What goes on in Texas? Is it the poverty, the Christian family values charade, the ignorance, or something in the water?
I feel Gilberta’s desperation. I wouldn’t dream of passing judgment on her. It takes a village, or something. But I guess you can’t find one in Texas.
I am a young mom of a 1 yr old. I’m 20 years old I didnt want to be a mom this young but I am. Im always broke. I work a job that I hate. I married my daughters father who won’t work and I can’t stand half the time. I’m bipolar and I have GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder). But never would I get to that point. Yeah my daughter drives me crazy and yeah I have to take her to a babysitter sometimes when I get to the screaming point. But no matter how “depressed” you are it is not an excuse. It’s bull crap they are just plain crazy. And most of them are just vendictive so the fathers can’t have the children so all these women getting innocent on the basis of insanity thats bull. It’s TEXAS yall believe highly in the death penalty.
Ah, my heart goes out to you. I hope you can join some support groups for women with similar situations. And there must be social services there who could be of use. Let me know if I can help in some way.
concern & blessings,
SIster Wolf
Momentary lapse of reason or It seemed like the best idea at the time. If she killed herself only, what would become of her children? How could they live a normal life knowing their mother had killed herself? Who would take care of them? Would they be unhappy or feel unloved for the rest of their lives? She probably thought taking them with her was best for them. What is sad is that she must have felt this was her only option – that she had no support system, no one she could confide in with her feelings.
Absolutely. She was too distressed to see any options. If she had a best friend, I believe she might have hung in there. She must have felt completely alone. Mothers need other mothers. To compare feeligns, to offer experience, to find the humor of their struggles, and the willl to go on and fight for a better life.
My brother-in-law recently admitted that, when he was on anti-depressants, he began having sudden, vivid urges to kill himself and the pets (he doesn’t have kids). He had never had suicidal thoughts before. Maybe the woman was on medication or had PPD. You never know what makes people do this stuff.
Wow, that is scary.
I just read a report from the American Journal of Public Heath, July 2007, that says:
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Mothers of young children who feel they lack emotional support or help in caring for their children have more than three-times the risk of mental health problems compared to their peers who feel adequately supported, a new study shows.
that, is heart wrenching.
I blame Bush.