Did Mary Lincoln need committal?

[RJNorton]

(04-05-2014 04:34 AM)LincolnToddFan Wrote:  a Dr James Brust-head of the Dept of Psychiatry at San Pedro Peninsula Hospital in California wrote than even today, the kind of behavior that Mary was exhibiting after Tad's death would require her to be institutionalized. I agree with Dr. Brust's opinion after reading the Emerson book and other bio's of Mary.

Hi Toia. You are so right about Dr. Brust. By chance have you seen the excellent book entitled The Mary Lincoln Enigma? There is an entire chapter in that book in which Dr. Brust deals in great detail with Mary's condition. As you mentioned he most definitely feels that Mary was in great need of help. He writes, "If we acknowledge the severity of Mrs. Lincoln's symptoms at the time of her commitment in 1875, we can see a major level of psychiatric illness. Her delusions and hallucinations caused erratic, irrational, and potentially dangerous behavior."