I’ve heard various rumors about her over the years since she was fired from “Voyager” (partly because they wanted to emphasize Jeri Ryan instead). I don’t think she ever quite got over it. She’s been noted as being a very shy person, so an outburst like this seems out of character for her, and it’s possible an indication of mental illness.
I was utterly floored to see those pics of her, she looks dreadful and very aged (she’s only three days older than I am). I was looking at an article from 5 years ago about a Trek convention she attended where some of the attendees noticed she was going downhill and treated shabbily at it. While they can be a needed $$ boost for out-of-work actors, it appeared she was ill at ease there. I wonder if she’s been to any others since.
In any event, I hope she gets some help, because she certainly sounds like she needs it.
Then something funny happened during summer hiatus. People Magazine ran it's 50 Most Beautiful People issue, and in a surprise to everyone reading, Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) made the list. The producers back-pedaled and decided to use this as a means to boost the show's popularity, and opted to get rid of Lien instead.
That said, I never bought this, because just two years prior, Deep Space Nine added Worf to the cast without letting any of the regulars go to make room.