This is a transcript from CNN about Jennifer's condition tonight. I haven't found the transcript of the special yet - they may not release one.
I think this is more than just a case of too much wedding stress!
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0504/30/cst.06.html
Judy Kuransky, a clinical psychologist with Columbia University, joins me now, better known as Dr. Judy.
Dr. Judy, let me go over some of the terms we've been using, or hearing today about this young woman, all right, to describe her state of mind. Overstressed, all right?
DR. JUDY KURANSKY, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Yes.
LIN: Narcissistic.
KURANSKY: Yes, selfish.
LIN: Selfish. Maybe even crazy.
KURANSKY: Yes, well, could have had a break. Yes, what else?
LIN: So what do you think?
KURANSKY: I think she had so much stress about this that she reached a point really of regression. We've seen her being covered in this way, with this little blanket. Kids know what it's like to have a blankey with you. She probably came with that from home, because she had a bag on her...
(CROSSTALK)
LIN: The towel, the striped towel that's over her head?
KURANSKY: Yes. Right, exactly.
LIN: Right now.
KURANSKY: And then we hear that the police gave her a teddy bear, and they were whispering comforting words to her. Well, I spent a lot of time working with people under trauma. And so you, what you want to do is give them teddy bears. We used to do that to all the kids and adults, by the way, after 9/11, because in that kind of stress, teddy bears are comforting. They're what we call a transitional object that makes you feel safe.
And so I think she was regressing. Now, look at the story, Carol, that she came up with. An abduction. How many times on the news have we heard lately even about little girls being abducted, being snatched from their home and taken far away? And so under stress, she came up with the same story that happens to little girls. And so I think under terrific stress, she regressed to this very young age and this really kind of regressive behavior.
LIN: All right, so does that -- because I was going to ask you, what kind of person comes up with this detailed, sinister plot of a kidnapping, with descriptions of the suspect, versus, look, I just can't handle this big wedding and we all need to talk, or just someone who just runs away, you know?
KURANSKY: Well, I think that's what -- the stress made her go back to a childhood feeling of being unsafe and being frightened and being scared and overwhelmed, and no one in the family was able obviously to talk with her. She wasn't able to share with anyone else, and you look over....
LIN: Dr. Judy, this is a wedding! It's a wedding!
KURANSKY: Yes.
LIN: I mean, it's not like, you know, it's not like, I don't know, I'm going to reach here, the death of a child, or -- it was a wedding. It was supposed to be a special, happy occasion, the beginning of this new life with this man.
KURANSKY: Yes, but Carol, if you look at some of the research, we have a scale of the impact of events, and even positive events cause stress. You add them all up, and the person can have a break.
A wedding can be equal to even -- I know people are going to be shocked about this -- the losing of someone, moving away, having a baby. All these things add just to the pressure. They could be good or they could feel bad.
What really is sad here is that, unfortunately, this woman, this 32-year-old woman, who regressed to a child and acted in this way, has done a really negative thing for women's rights, for families everywhere, because she made up a story. Now, a lot of people are not going to believe many of these stories now from here to forward. You'll hear all kinds of things about this one being taken or that one. And so there is really a sad story here for the future of women being believed.
LIN: Well, OK, let's get back to this woman's condition. I mean, so you're saying that she's in a state of regression. Our Peter Viles, who is on the same flight that this woman is on, has described her by telephone as being curled up in a fetal position. The cops gave her a teddy bear. She's got this towel over her head. I mean, is she...
KURANSKY: There you go.
LIN: Is she gone?
KURANSKY: There you go.
LIN: Is she just not with us right now?
KURANSKY: Well, that -- there you go. You see, she's curled up in a fetal position. She's back to being a child, being absolutely into that frightened state. It's going to take a long time for her to recover from this. I think she needs to be in a safe environment, in probably a rehab center, because this is a serious behavior. Just a little interview here and there, one psychologist session once a week is not really going to do it. I think they need family therapy, because obviously she was not communicating with the family. They had no idea what was going on, they even said. It's going to take a long time for her to recover from this, especially with all the media attention. It's going to be very hard for her to form a new relationship. I'm not so sure that it's going to really last with the bridegroom. He's going to be -- he's under tremendous pressure now...
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