For some, the day their child is born is the best day of their lives. For others, it leads to their worst nightmare. Though awareness around mental health complications like postpartum depression has been growing in recent years, many are still unaware of other postpartum disorders, including one of the most severe — postpartum psychosis. Grammy Award-winning singer Adele has taken to Instagram to help a friend share her story of suffering from it.
Usually developing within a few days of giving birth, postpartum psychosis causes delusions, hallucinations, depression, mania, confused behavior, and other symptoms. Though women diagnosed with bipolar disorder can be at higher risk, women without a history of mental illness can also experience it. Because the disorder develops and worsens so quickly, early intervention is vital, and a full recovery is possible, according to Action on Postpartum Psychosis.
On Instagram, Adele introduced her followers to her close friend Laura Dockrill, who recently opened up about her personal struggle with postpartum psychosis in a blog post.
Dockrill wrote, “It’s not easy to admit that the worst time of your life was when your baby was born. I wanted to unlock some doors and be honest. I’ve been somewhere I can’t unsee — and in case there is anybody out there struggling — to open up a dialogue and say it’s ok.”
The boost in awareness has prompted many mothers to thank these women for opening up and the traumatic experience of postpartum disorders.
Thank you SO much for raising awareness of PP. I had it after my baby was born and after picking up the pieces of my life went on to write this piece https://t.co/5no6khatdB to try and do the same. Your friend might find @ActionOnPP useful, i know I did. Much love to her and you
— Catherine Carver (@ALittleGreyCell) August 14, 2018
https://twitter.com/angidave4088/status/1029061478844964864
Everyone experiencing Postpartum Psychosis needs a best friend like @Adele and support from other mums who have experienced it first hand. @ActionOnPP can’t provide Adeles but does provide an excellent online peer support forum just for PP and info produced by experts. https://t.co/TA2ozghZKP
— Giles Berrisford (@DrGilesBrum) August 14, 2018
In her Instagram post, Adele wrote, “Mamas talk about how you’re feeling because in some cases it could save yours or someone else’s life.” When women don’t know about the possibility of developing a postpartum disorder, they are less likely to vocalize what they’re going through, but increasing the conversation around these disorders can help prevent more women from suffering in silence.
Read more:
Moms take to Twitter to “shout” about postpartum mental health
