Post Partum Psychosis in the Clancy Case & Revenge Sleep

Bradenton Best Life Podcast: Psych Hot Topics, Postpartum Psychosis, and Revenge Bedtime Procrastination

Dr. Karmon Sears, a licensed psychologist in Florida, covers two mental health topics in this episode: the Lindsay Clancy trial as a lens for discussing postpartum psychosis and the access-to-care gaps that can leave women without support, and revenge bedtime procrastination as a sleep and self-regulation issue. The episode is educational, unscripted, and focused on helping listeners recognize warning signs, understand treatment barriers, and build healthier nighttime routines.

Key topics

In this episode, Dr. Karmon Sears explains that the Lindsay Clancy case is not being discussed for legal judgment, but as an entry point into postpartum psychosis, severe depression, and the need for better mental health access.

She outlines how women’s symptoms have historically been discounted, including physical and mental health concerns such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, postpartum depression, and perimenopause.

Dr. Sears distinguishes baby blues, postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, and postpartum psychosis, giving approximate prevalence figures:

Baby blues affect about 80% of new mothers

Postpartum depression and anxiety affect roughly 1 in 7

Postpartum psychosis is rare, affecting about 1 to 2 in 1,000 births

She emphasizes red flags that raise concern for postpartum psychosis, including prior postpartum episodes, pre-existing bipolar disorder, severe insomnia, hallucinations, delusions, command voices, and behavior that is not reality-based.

She explains what family members and providers should do when psychosis is suspected, including contacting treating clinicians, calling 911, seeking emergency evaluation, and considering psychiatric hold or hospitalization when safety is at risk.

Dr. Sears stresses that diagnosis requires a skilled clinician, not a coach, and that collaboration between therapists, psychiatrists, and prescribers is essential when symptoms are severe or medication is not working.

She argues that limited insurance coverage, high deductibles, lack of mental health benefits, and reduced access to affordable care contribute to missed diagnoses and delayed treatment.

In the second half, she shifts to revenge bedtime procrastination, describing it as staying up late to reclaim personal time after a day filled with work, caregiving, and responsibility.

She notes that the behavior is often linked to high-functioning, perfectionistic, or overextended people, and that it is driven more by depleted self-control than by simple laziness or weak will.

She offers practical sleep-support strategies: consistent sleep and wake times, reduced stimulation at night, sunlight exposure, walking, journaling, gratitude practice, stretching, meditation, EFT tapping, and other rhythmic activities.

trial #BabyBluesmurder #LindsayClancytrial

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