This discussion on emotions, bfing and mother-child bonding is
wonderful.  Denise's posting of June 10 was especially good, and
expressed what I was trying to say a hundred times better than
I did. I must admit to being overwhelmed by the net's
response to my dream of abandoning my daughter. Actually, the
thing that amazes me the most to this day is the way that it
magically stopped as soon as I "admitted" when I was NOT SLEEPING
that she was a "burden". Once I examined, when I was awake, all
of the improbable elements of the dream (going to a football
game-I hate football; knee-deep snow in the desert; abandoning
my baby under a bush!), I realized how well I had actually
protected my baby from my anger. Dreams are fascinating!
I agree with the very wise netters who suggest that there
definitely are boundaries between feeling and doing. Like when
mental health professionals try to assess how close a depressive
is to suicide by asking about his/her plans. If the patient has
started making a plan, you'd better act FAST. If it's still in
the "life is the pits, death would be better" stage, you probably
have at least a little time. I am certainly not qualified, but
think that our profession should be alert to these delicate
situations and try to get a mom-at-risk help. Judy Knopf