All posts by Jessie Hunt

13 March 2026

Laura’s story: I told my doctor I was hallucinating, but they told me I had anxiety and sent me home

If postpartum psychosis (PP) was included as a formal diagnosis in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), resulting in more awareness and consistency in approaches to treatment, I believe I could have got the help I desperately needed much sooner.

There are so many different mental health conditions in the DSM, and it makes me wonder if the barrier to PP being included is because it’s not as common as some other illnesses. But just because it’s not as common doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. And given that it is one of the most serious perinatal mental health conditions, I’d argue that we need as much awareness and clarity as possible.

It was 2024 when I experienced PP – although at first I was told it was anxiety and lack of sleep. Not everyone who experiences PP has enough insight during the illness to be able to identify what is and isn’t a hallucination, but I was lucky in that I knew I was seeing and hearing things that weren’t there. But even with me directly informing the doctors and midwives of this, they assured me I wasn’t really hallucinating, I was just exhausted, experiencing anxiety and I needed to rest. I also had other doctors acknowledging the hallucinations but telling me that it was quite normal postpartum.

But hallucinations aren’t normal postpartum. They are, however, a core symptom of PP. I just don’t think they had the knowledge or awareness of it to diagnose me.

Hallucinations weren’t the only symptom I was displaying, of course. There were delusions, confusion and strange thinking, too. I remember waking up in hospital after giving birth and asking the staff whose baby this was. And when I went home, I accused my husband of stealing my baby. Again, I was told I was just tired.

During all of this, I was prescribed sertraline for my ‘anxiety’ and I became suicidal. After several weeks struggling at home and being reassured by doctors that everything was normal, my husband called me an ambulance because I thought I was having a heart attack. It was only then that I was finally diagnosed with PP. But if I had been diagnosed sooner, all those times when I talked of hallucinations and exhibited delusional thinking, I might never have reached that critical, suicidal state.

That’s why I believe PP should be included in the DSM, and it should be included in midwife training, too. The symptoms I was displaying and informing the health professionals of were all classic symptoms of psychosis. But if it’s not formally recognised, it’s more likely that these signs will be missed, which makes misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment also more likely – which can be incredibly risky.

Nobody should reach the critical state that I did – or worse - before they are diagnosed. A formal diagnosis could raise awareness, improve training and, ultimately, save lives.

20 February 2026

Kayleigh’s story: I’m running the London Marathon to show that you can fully recover from postpartum psychosis

I had never heard of postpartum psychosis before I experienced it and do not recall it being mentioned on any of the prenatal courses that I had studiously attended! It came as a total shock as I had always thought of myself as having very good mental health. I was very excited to become a mum, however, this incredibly exciting time was clouded by a terrifying experience and I couldn’t see any way through it – I certainly didn’t think I would ever recover.

I’m now sharing my story and training to run the London Marathon to increase awareness of this condition and give hope to those currently experiencing it.

I want others to know that you can make a full recovery and go back to leading a normal and very happy life.

My story

We were absolutely delighted to find out we were pregnant, it was a little earlier in our relationship than we had planned but all the same, we couldn’t wait to be parents. I had a relatively smooth pregnancy and had done ‘all the reading’ and attended lots of prenatal classes, NCT group, a breastfeeding course, baby first aid, etc. I thought I was well prepared for postpartum.

It all started with a traumatic birth, two days of labour with a dramatic rush into theatre for a c section which was narrowly avoided. Instead, my son was delivered by forceps and I had to have an episiotomy (a surgical incision to expedite delivery).

The long labour and pain from the episiotomy meant that I didn’t sleep well for almost a whole week. Thinking that this was ‘normal’ for new parents, we laughed off these initial warning signs. Then, I started to hallucinate, forgetting who I was, or who our son was.

I, and those closest to me, noticed that I was experiencing extreme highs and lows - feeling incredibly happy one moment and in total despair the next. I was very fortunate to have community midwives throughout my pregnancy who knew me well and also noticed that this wasn’t normal for me.

I was very nervous about asking for help - I had tried to hide how I was feeling and was constantly dismissing it as ‘normal baby blues’. It was a very confusing time for me and I remember not feeling like I could trust anyone. I had racing thoughts and felt like I couldn’t switch off so I gave up trying and offered to do all of the nights with our son as I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway.

I was admitted to hospital on day three after giving birth as my husband was concerned about my very low mood. However, my more alarming symptoms were missed and they discharged me after helping me to breastfeed.

When I got back home I was very scared and knew that I needed help. On a routine visit on day seven, my community midwife advised me to contact 111 and ask for the mental health crisis team which I did. The mental health team responded very quickly and visited our house within a few hours and, at this point, my mind was constantly racing and I was very worried that I would never feel normal again. I remember finding the visits from the mental health team, perinatal team and social workers very difficult as I was struggling to retain information or sequence days, I felt like I was constantly confused and that there were too many strangers in my home. I wished that they would go away and leave us alone and I was hoping that I could say what they wanted to hear so they would leave and not come back. However, I was talking too quickly and therefore concerning the professionals even more and at one point they mentioned the possibility of sectioning me which led me into a complete panic.

However, I ended up being treated at home with daily appointments from the mental health crisis team and perinatal team. I had never heard of a mother and baby unit and now with hindsight, I believe that this would have been a brilliant option for me.

Although very reluctant to take any medication (I am the kind of person who won’t take paracetamol unless it is absolutely the last resort), I started to take Olanzapine about ten days postpartum. I didn’t get on well with it initially as the dosage was too high for me and I was very dizzy - not a great combination when caring for a new baby! But it definitely helped and allowed me to get the sleep and the break from my racing mind that I desperately needed.

The perinatal team in Suffolk were fantastic. I had regular meetings with my mental health nurse, Emma, and was lucky enough to be assigned a children’s nurse, Clare, who worked hard to ensure that I bonded with my son.

The perinatal team also organised walks and craft activities with other mothers in similar circumstances, which I found very helpful as it made me feel like I wasn’t the only new mum going through this.

Thankfully, once I started to sleep, it didn’t take too long to start feeling more like myself and I was able to start processing what had happened. I held onto the guilt for a very long time, feeling like I had spoilt the first few weeks of fatherhood for my husband and had ruined the excitement of a new baby for our whole family as they were all worrying about me. I think I am still coming to terms with what happened and making peace with it. It was a huge step forward when I felt comfortable to start speaking about what happened and that is what has led me to sharing my story more widely.

I do feel very fortunate in my experience, however, that I did maintain a bond with my son. Although at times I didn’t know who he was, which is heartbreaking, I continued to care for him all the same.

My message to others would be to trust the process - it is incredibly hard when you’re in the midst of postpartum psychosis but know that you can trust your closest family and friends to lead you back to yourself again with the support of the medical professionals. If you are not getting the support you need and are still not feeling right please continue to ask for help. Calling 111 worked for me and it's great that they now have a mental health option. Please keep reaching out if you need help, and know fantastic charities like APP are also here for you, to help signpost you and to support you as you recover.

I am now fundraising for APP by running the London Marathon in April in the hope of raising awareness for this incredible charity, and to share my story to bring hope to those mothers and families currently going through something similar.

I am now back to myself again, living a full and happy family life, alongside working full time as a high school teacher. I remember being frightened that I would never be able to do any of this again when I was unwell but now I am living proof that you can recover.

To sponsor Kayleigh’s London Marathon fundraiser, visit her fundraising page here.

6 January 2026

Lizzy’s story: My postpartum psychosis made me re-live my birth trauma

After a smooth pregnancy I experienced a long and traumatic labour. My baby was back-to-back which put pressure on my nerves, and I didn’t sleep once throughout the labour which lasted for days. When postpartum psychosis hit, those traumatic birthing experiences came flooding back…

Before postpartum psychosis I’d never suffered any mental health problems. There were things that I was naturally anxious about relating to the birth – because you read so much about what can go wrong – but generally the pregnancy went smoothly.

The labour, however, was incredibly difficult. Because my baby, Patrick, was born back-to-back (i.e. he was facing the wrong way) he was pushing on my nerves which gave me the sensation to push when my body wasn’t ready to. My waters were also broken by the midwife with no prior warning, which made me think for a split second that I’d haemorrhaged. So my labour lasted a long time and I didn’t get any sleep. In fact, I think I only managed about two to three hours in four or five days.

Patrick was delivered by forceps and I had a Grade 3 tear that needed stitches. He was also mistakenly taken for blood tests because they thought his kidneys weren’t working (a nurse had failed to record when he’d had a wee.) At one point in the postpartum ward I noticed Patrick choking on mucus next to me but I was unable to get to him because of the epidural. I rang the buzzer and shouted but it took ages for someone to respond. Combined with the sleep deprivation, all of this was making me feel extremely anxious.

It was around then that I started to become suspicious that the midwives were talking about me being a first-time neurotic mum and I discharged myself at 4am- an incredibly out of character move.

When my husband was driving us home, I started shouting at him to be careful of the runners in the road. This was my first hallucination – there were no runners in the road.

At first, we kind of laughed it off and put it down to sleep deprivation and the tramadol I was taking. We didn’t realise it was a sign of what was to come.

When we got home, I was convinced that the house was on fire because I could see smoke. Again, we put it down to lack of sleep and painkillers, but my mum moved in to help us out anyway as everyone was starting to get worried about me.

The first evening I spent at home I remember being in agony because of the tear that I had suffered. I was terrified that the stitches were going to burst. That’s when I ran to our car with no shoes on wearing only maternity knickers and a shirt, begging Adam to take me back to hospital. I was seen in triage and sadly none of the professionals who saw me noticed the red flags of psychosis that were quickly developing. My physical health was checked and I was sent home.

I reverted to very childlike and vulnerable behaviour. I also began speaking very quickly and not making much sense. I kept forgetting Patrick’s name. A midwife visited me for the two-day check-up and I remember thinking I wished our regular midwife could be there because I knew I wasn’t myself and she would have noticed that.

At that point I was still wearing my hospital band and I hadn’t showered or brushed my hair in days. I felt like a voice in my head was almost screaming please get me help to those around me but I couldn’t actually say it out loud. My mum actually did ask the midwife for mental health support but the midwife said there was no need – she said I just needed a good night’s sleep and a walk around the block.

But my increasingly strange behaviour continued. I was rubbing my stomach a lot despite Patrick not being in there anymore. I was constantly pacing, and my mum described me as doing everything and nothing. Patrick was crying and I was zoned out and couldn’t even hear him. My mum would say maybe he needs his nappy changed but I couldn’t work out how to do it – I couldn’t even make a cup of tea. I was so confused.

I didn’t eat. I kept saying I was going for a shower but not going. I was flitting through lots of thoughts and feelings - one minute feeling positive, the next teary. That’s when I started using my notes app on my phone to keep track of my thoughts.

I could not sleep. No matter how hard I tried or how tired I felt.

My brain was wired, my thoughts going at 100mph. I was googling about postpartum insomnia, trying to understand why I couldn’t sleep.

On the morning that I was sectioned, things get hazy. I still hadn’t slept or eaten. I remember feeling a primal urge to scream. My mum tells me that I ran and attempted to throw myself at the window. I thought I had died in childbirth and I started screaming that I was in hell and reeling off goodbyes to people. Then I started believing my mum had died, and that Patrick had died. At one point I was terrified that I had killed Patrick myself. I have little to no memories of this episode, it was an out of body experience.

My mum then shouted Adam to call 999 as she thought I might have psychosis. She spent her career in social care so was vaguely familiar with it. She’d also watched Stacey’s story in EastEnders and recognised what may be happening. Meanwhile I lay on the floor in the living room, shouting and screaming. Eventually the police and an ambulance came and I was taken to hospital, terrified. When I got to A&E I was covered in my own urine because part of my psychotic episode involved pushing, as if I was still giving birth, and I thought the urine was me haemorrhaging. I was also having terrible hallucinations of Patrick choking because of my experience in the postpartum ward.

Eventually, I was sectioned and transported to Derby Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) as there was no room in the Leeds MBU nearby.

When I got there I was immediately given olanzapine. I was still psychotic for a while, eventually convincing myself I was pregnant with twins and thinking I still had to give birth to one baby (this stems from my husband being a twin). During one episode I even burst my stitches too. I couldn’t feel pain - it was an out of body experience.

Eventually, after a few days, the antipsychotics started to kick in and I very quickly returned to myself. I remember feeling really embarrassed then. I asked my parents to show the MBU staff photos of me on my wedding day and to tell them I’m a teacher because I couldn’t believe what they saw me doing.

But after all that time thinking that I was in hell, I started to realise that I was in a good place. The MBU wasn’t hell, it was more like heaven. It saved me.

I was so relieved to be over the psychosis, but then depression hit me like a ton of bricks. I adored Patrick but couldn’t show it and I struggled to be near him. I withdrew from everyone and didn’t want to leave my room. I wouldn’t wish depression like that on my worst enemy. The doctors upped my sertraline and things gradually did get better but it took a while and a lot of care from the staff.

I left the MBU at the end of January having been there since the end of November. My mum and dad got an Airbnb close by to help settle me back in and the good days started outweighing the bad. Patrick becoming more smiley and interactive healed me a lot and I started going to baby groups and opening up to people about what I’d been through.

My mum found APP. She was supported by a grandmother peer supporter, and found great comfort in this. I then reached out and met Ellie, one of the peer supporters, in York. It helped me so much speaking to someone else who has been through what I had. When you’re coming to terms with what happened to you, you think to yourself, surely that’s a unique experience. But actually there’s a huge community of people with a lot in common.

Now I’m determined to spread awareness.

I’d never had any mental health issues in the past, so postpartum psychosis hit me completely out of the blue. It really can happen to anybody, so I want to be open with people about my experience.

I would say to anyone going through postpartum psychosis that, as scary as it feels, there is a community of people waiting for you when you’re better. You feel so alone when you’re in the midst of it, but you are not, I promise. And you can, and will, recover.

19 December 2025

APP expands peer support for women experiencing postpartum psychosis in Cheshire, Merseyside and North Wales

APP has been awarded a new NHS contract to provide peer support within the new Seren Lodge Mother and Baby Unit (MBU).

The new Seren Lodge MBU officially launched on 15^th December. It is a first of its kind cross-border perinatal mental health facility designed to support women from Cheshire, Merseyside and North Wales. The unit will work alongside the existing regional Community Perinatal Mental Health service who already care for thousands of women every year.

Jocelyn and Sally from Action on Postpartum Psychosis at the opening of Seren Lodge Mother and Baby Unit, Chester. December 2025

APP works with a number of MBUs around the country to provide peer support to women in hospital as well as in the community. The charity, recently acknowledged with a prestigious GSK Impact Award, also provides MBU support in Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Birmingham and Solihull as well as a huge network of in-person and virtual café groups across the UK including Northern Ireland.

Dr Jess Heron, CEO, Action on Postpartum Psychosis, said: “As an organisation founded on lived experience, we’re delighted to be able to reach and support more women and families around the UK via this new NHS partnership. Many women have told us that having someone to speak to who has experienced postpartum psychosis themselves and come through the other side brings hope and reduces fear, so we know this new service will be an invaluable addition to Seren Lodge.”

Dr Sally Wilson, National Training Coordinator, Action on Postpartum Psychosis, said: “APP has been working with partners and families with lived experience to campaign for more MBUs for many years now, so we’re really excited to see the much-needed Seren Lodge MBU take shape. We know through our own research that women being treated in MBUs rather than general psychiatric wards enjoy more positive outcomes, and being able to add value to this through the provision of peer support will be truly transformative.

Seren Lodge will provide a home from home for women and their babies and include a nursery, sensory room, and multiple lounges to support quiet time and family visits. Having access to outside spaces is central to the development with two garden areas and a walking pram loop, with families benefitting from close access to the Countess Country Park. Seren Lodge will also provide dedicated space and Welsh-language resources for women from North Wales who have previously struggled to access MBU beds.

Sarah Dearden, APP Storyteller said: "When I first became unwell with postpartum psychosis when my son was six days old I was admitted to a general psychiatric ward. There were no available MBU beds and being admitted to the wrong and very scary environment made the fear and confusion so much worse. That's why Seren Lodge is so wonderful and crucial. Mums and babies can stay together and stop the anguish of being separated."

Dr Heron added: “This new unit will ensure that new mothers with severe postnatal illness will be cared for appropriately and supported with parenting, without having to travel miles from their families or ending up in adult psychiatric wards and separated from their newborn. APP has been fortunate to work with the Seren Lodge team to ensure the voices of lived experience are heard throughout the development process, so we are confident that this new facility will be a much-needed addition to the UK’s perinatal mental health provision.”

Seren Lodge MBU is the result of a partnership between Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP), Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCHUB), Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, NHS England and NHS Wales. It has been supported and informed by CWP’s Helix experts by experience group.

Could you become an APP peer supporter?

If you have lived experience of postpartum psychosis and live within the Seren Lodge catchment area (Cheshire / Merseyside / North Wales) APP would love to hear from you. The charity is currently recruiting for a Peer Support Facilitator and a Peer Support Worker and will be holding a training day in Chester on 31^st January 2026. Find out more here.

10 December 2025

New research collaboration to tackle ethnic inequalities in perinatal severe mental illness

APP's Shaheda Akhtar will play a pivotal role in a ground-breaking new study that aims to transform postpartum mental health care for mothers from ethnic minority backgrounds or those living in deprived areas who experience severe mental illness.

The Improving Postpartum Outcomes of Severe Mental Illnesses in Ethnically Diverse Mothers (POSIE) project, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), is a collaboration between several UK universities, including the University of Oxford, NHS Trusts and charities. It aims to identify practical ways to improve care for mothers experiencing serious mental illnesses such as severe depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and psychosis.

Suicide remains the leading cause of death among mothers in the first year after giving birth, while the number of new mothers seeking mental health support has risen sharply, increasing by 30% between 2022 and 2023.[1] Meanwhile, women from Black ethnic backgrounds are almost three times more likely to die in the year following childbirth compared to white mothers, and women from Asian backgrounds also face an increased risk.[2]

A particular focus for the research is the transition from hospital to community care, a period when many women lose contact with support services and face heightened risk.

Dr Roisin Mooney, co-lead investigator of the project at the University of Oxford, said: “Cultural and structural barriers can prevent women from receiving timely and appropriate mental health support, leaving many without access to effective treatment or follow-up care. By exploring why gaps in aftercare exist and how these differ across ethnic and social groups, this inclusive research seeks to inform new, equitable approaches to postpartum mental health care.”

Professor Kam Bhui, co-lead investigator also from Oxford, said: “The disparities between different groups highlight that current systems of care are not meeting the needs of all mothers. This exciting collaborative project aims to tackle this challenge and improve the prevention and management of severe mental illness following childbirth.”

The research team will use clinical data to investigate variations in care and outcomes, and will run workshops involving at least 120 women with lived experience of postpartum severe mental illness from Manchester, Sheffield, London and Oxford. From this data, they will design a new ‘culturally safe’ care pathway, which will be tested and evaluated at six sites across the country, before developing a toolkit and guidance to support its implementation.

Professor of Maternal and Infant Health at Sheffield Hallam University, Hora Soltani, is part of the POSIE project team and also leads the NIHR Inequalities Challenge: Maternity Disparities Consortium.

Professor Soltani said: “As lead for the perinatal mental health theme within the NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium, I am delighted to be part of this very important project. Becoming a mother is often assumed to be a joyful and transformative experience, but for some women it can also be a period of significant vulnerability with poorer outcomes for underserved communities. This project aims to ensure that every mother, regardless of background, receives compassionate, effective, and culturally responsive support needed for recovery and long-term wellbeing. Perinatal mental health matters as its impact spans generations, making equity and inclusion a societal imperative.”

Shaheda Akhtar, a peer support facilitator from Action on Postpartum Psychosis (APP) and patient and public involvement (PPI) lead on the POSIE project, said: “We regularly hear from Black and Asian women who've had postpartum psychosis about delays in treatment and admission, that care and information did not feel appropriate to them, and they had difficulties finding information about this treatable medical emergency. Going to a Mother and Baby Unit can be quite frightening when you don't know anything about them. Our peer supporters help women to understand what they are experiencing and combat isolation and fear. At APP, we educate health professionals by sharing women’s powerful stories, but we know that they are crying out for evidence-based practical ways to improve care.”

Laura Kyrke-Smith MP is currently leading a private members bill though Parliament, which is calling for high-quality perinatal mental health assessments to be a routine part of antenatal care for all women in England. It has been named ‘Sophie’s Law’ in memory of Ms Kyrke-Smith’s friend who died by suicide following the death of her third child.

She said: “Research like the POSIE project is vital to addressing the unacceptable inequalities that continue to cost mothers their lives. We know that women from Black and Asian backgrounds face significantly higher risks of death following childbirth, and that the transition from hospital to community care is a particularly vulnerable period when too many women fall through the cracks.

"This research will help us understand why these disparities exist and, crucially, how we can design care pathways that work for all mothers, regardless of their background or postcode. Every mother deserves access to compassionate, culturally responsive mental health support when she needs it most.

"I welcome this collaboration and look forward to seeing how its findings can inform better practice across the NHS and help ensure no more families have to experience preventable tragedy."

This study is funded by the NIHR and in collaboration with the University of Oxford, King’s College London, University of Greenwich, University of Manchester, Sheffield Hallam University, University College London, Royal College of Psychiatrists, Action on Postpartum Psychosis, The Light in Sheffield, 5XMORE, Policy Connect and The Mental Elf.

SOURCES

[1] Knight M, Bunch K, Felker A, Patel R, Kotnis R, Kenyon S, et al. Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care - Lessons learned to inform maternity care from the UK and Ireland Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths and Morbidity 2019-21 [Internet]. Oxford National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit; 2023 [cited 2024 Sep 18]. Available from: https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/assets/downloads/mbrrace-uk/reports/maternal report-2023/MBRRACE-UK_Maternal_Compiled_Report_2023.pdf

[2] MBRRACE-UK. Maternal mortality 2020-2022 | MBRRACE-UK | NPEU [Internet]. National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit: University of Oxford; 2024 Jan [cited 2024 Mar 19]. Available from: https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk/data-brief/maternal-mortality-2020-2022

23 November 2025

Film review: Die My Love

Colleagues from Action on Postpartum Psychosis (APP) have viewed the powerful and compelling new film Die My Love and wanted to share a brief update for our community.

The film is directed by Lynne Ramsay (known for We Need to Talk About Kevin and You Were Never Really Here). It stars Jennifer Lawrence (as Grace) and Robert Pattinson (as Jackson), with LaKeith Stanfield, Sissy Spacek, and Nick Nolte in supporting roles.

About the film content

Die My Love is very much a dark, arthouse psychological drama, so isn’t one to be taken literally. It provokes feelings of empathy, leaves you with questions, and you’re free to interpret things yourself.

While the film isn’t explicitly / exclusively a postpartum psychosis (PP) narrative, PP is explored within a mix of broader perinatal mental health themes, including depression, grief, trauma, isolation and alcohol use.

Because of its highly emotional and intense content, APP would urge caution for anyone with lived experience of PP or perinatal mental illness, including partners, as some scenes may be very distressing.

APP’s Jenny and Hannah share their reviews

Jenny and Hannah went to see the film together - a nice way to check in with each other and not watch it in isolation. If you are planning to watch it, take care of yourselves, and know that APP’s peer supporters are here for you. You might also want to go to the cinema or watch at home with a trusted friend or family member.

Jenny, one of APP’s National Peer Support Coordinators, said, “I thought the film was excellent. It leaves you with a lot to interpret and process for yourself in terms of Grace’s experiences, acted out brilliantly by Jennifer Lawrence, while an often bewildered Jackson watches on. It was reassuring that there is never any question of Grace’s love and attachment with her son, it is everyone and everything else that she seems to no longer relate to and detaches from. I would suggest that anyone with lived experience of perinatal mental health issues who is thinking about seeing the film watch some of the trailers and clips first, to see if you feel the tone of it is for you, and be aware that there are some distressing scenes and high emotion throughout. It’s a surreal and chaotic ride that will leave you with plenty of questions.”

Hannah, National Coordinator (NHS Contracts), said, “I thought this film was brilliant. It was intense, confusing, exhilarating, and I found myself mesmerised from start to finish. Die My Love resonated with many parts of my own experience of PP. Visually, it was beautiful yet harsh, and the soundtrack also added to the emotions, especially the music, which included a gorgeous acoustic version of a song my eldest used to dance along to when he was a toddler (can you tell I’m a musician in a former life?!).

Jennifer Lawrence’s performance was outstanding, and whilst Grace’s frustrations with Jackson and his older family members were understandable at times, I did also find myself feeling desperately sad for him at times too. Whilst their baby is sometimes outside of the narrative of their relationship and the chaos of whatever is going on, Grace is a loving mother - I wanted to cheer when she was questioned about her bond and attachment with her son and said “there’s nothing wrong, he’s perfect and I don’t have any problems with that”, voicing what many around her were feeling and she was managing (in the main) to hold onto as a tenuous link to reality, or at least her version of it. A real feast for the senses, soul and deserving of a wide audience. Do take care if you have lived experience or aren’t feeling great, but I loved it.”

Contact APP for peer support

If you have been affected by this film, need any support, or want to meet others affected by postpartum psychosis, please get in touch with our peer support team: app@app-network.org or find out more about APP peer support here.

Working with journalists, filmmakers and content creators

We work closely with journalists, filmmakers and content creators to promote accurate and sensitive portrayals of PP. If you're making content or want to talk about PP, please do get in touch with us: media@app-network.org or find out more here.

20 November 2025

APP supports expert panel in call for postpartum psychosis to be recognised by diagnostic manuals

An international panel of women's mental health experts has, this month, issued a call for postpartum psychosis (PP) to be formally recognised in diagnosis classification manuals.

Professor Veerle Bergink of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Erasmus University in Rotterdam, led a panel of prominent PP academics, including APP's Professor Ian Jones and Trustee Dr Clare Dolman, in developing a consensus statement. Professor Bergink said: “We argue that with its specific onset, phenotype, phenomenology, risk profile, and prognosis, postpartum psychosis has distinct prevention and treatment recommendations.”

The team have spent several years pulling together clinical and biological evidence and consulting patient groups, to demonstrate that postpartum psychosis deserves official recognition and a new classification should be created within the bipolar disorder chapters.

Although the term is used widely by clinicians, researchers and people with lived experience, official diagnostic manuals currently force doctors to classify postpartum psychosis under a range of different names in different subsections of the classification manual, leading to confusion for patients, clinicians and researchers alike.

Dr Clare Dolman, King’s College and University of Edinburgh, Trustee of Action on Postpartum Psychosis, said: “The case for postpartum psychosis being recognised as a distinct condition in the diagnostic manuals is clear and is supported by the wealth of evidence provided by the Expert Panel. Both as a researcher in this area for 15 years - and a woman who has suffered a postpartum psychosis - I do not understand the reluctance to make this straightforward but much-needed change.”

Dr Jess Heron, CEO, Action on Postpartum Psychosis, said: “This is a momentous occasion. If these recommendations are accepted by the team who oversee the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) in the US, it could lead to significant improvements in patient care and research quality globally.”

The full consensus statement is available here.

The issue of diagnosis is a confusing topic for many people affected by PP and their families (partly caused by its absence from diagnostic manuals). For help and support, please reach out to APP’s peer supporters, or join a discussion on the APP forum.

30 October 2025

Hollyoaks work with APP for new issue-based storyline involving Cleo McQueen

Hollyoaks will explore Postpartum Psychosis (PP) when Cleo McQueen, played by Nadine Mulkerrin, struggles with her mental health following a traumatic birth with her first child, Joseph.

APP colleagues and storytellers have advised on the Hollyoaks storyline which will hit the screens this week.

Cleo went into early labour at 28 weeks pregnant and, assisted by Dodger (Danny Mac), was rushed to hospital. After giving birth, Cleo haemorrhaged and required emergency medical attention.

Baby Joseph needs to stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit due to being premature. Cleo, who fell ill after childbirth, is later given the green light by doctors o go home. Red flags start to appear when, at first, she doesn't believe her baby is hers.

This quickly progresses when Cleo starts losing track of time and feels guilty for struggling to produce milk. Cleo’s girlfriend Sienna Blake (Anna Passey) moves into the McQueens house to help support the new mum.

The storyline follows Cleo and her support system - Sienna, Dodger, and her McQueen family – as they convince her to seek help when they start noticing her concerning behaviour.

Cleo will be treated in a general psychiatric ward – she’s not able to go to a Mother and Baby Unit due to Joseph being in the NICU unit.

For this issue-based storyline, Hollyoaks worked with APP colleagues and storytellers, consulting with the cast members involved and advising on the storytelling process.

Nadine Mulkerrin, who plays Cleo McQueen, has said “It’s been a new challenge taking on the role of motherhood and the difficulties that being a new mum can bring, especially the strain it can have on your mental health. We had a consultation with APP [Action on Postpartum Psychosis] whilst filming this storyline, and it was helpful to hear other people’s experiences - my heart breaks for poor Cleo.”

Dr Jess Heron, CEO, Action on Postpartum Psychosis said “Responsible portrayals of PP on popular TV shows such as Hollyoaks are invaluable. With greater public awareness, partners, friends, family members and frontline health professionals will be more able to quickly spot the signs and seek specialist emergency help as soon as possible. We’re grateful to Hollyoaks for playing a part in awareness raising and for their diligent approach to producing a sensitive and accurate storyline.”

Hollyoaks is now available to stream from 7am Monday to Wednesday on Channel 4 or watch live on E4 at 7pm.

18 September 2025

Shubina’s story: Finding your ‘tribe’ in recovery is so important

It was 1997 when I got married to a man I didn’t know. I was a very naïve 23 year-old, and wasn’t ready for marriage. So, there was the shock of that and then the shock of marrying someone from a different culture who spoke a different language. Worse still, as the marriage progressed, he became abusive and controlling.

I fell pregnant quickly. My pregnancy was difficult – I didn’t put on much weight, I was sick all the way through and my husband’s abuse went up a gear. I turned to my mum and dad for support, and they were just amazing. With them by my side I was able to leave and I finally felt safe.

The final part of my pregnancy was more stable, although I did have a long and exhausting labour. My mum stayed with me throughout and, eventually, my beautiful daughter was born. I went home to Mum’s but, two days later, my husband turned up, banging on the door. I was holding my baby and he threatened me while she was in my arms. It was frightening and I think this was the trigger for my postpartum psychosis (PP).

I couldn’t sleep, I was too afraid to eat and I became extremely paranoid. After about five days of no food or sleep the hallucinations started. My younger brother tried to encourage me to eat, but the paranoia I was experiencing was too strong.

By this point I was in the midst of a psychotic episode and I didn’t trust any healthcare professionals, convinced that they were going to hurt my baby.

My family didn’t know what to do so my mum went to the doctors and asked for help. A couple of doctors came out to the house but they didn’t know what was wrong with me either. This was a time when there wasn’t much awareness of PP.

A family friend at the time was a nurse who suggested it might have something to do with giving birth so my dad took me to the mental health unit where I was voluntarily admitted. There was no Mother and Baby Unit at the time so I had to leave my baby at home in the care of my amazing sister who took time off work to look after her for me.

I was in the mental health unit for a total of three weeks. I remember when I first got there, still in the psychosis, I was confused as to where I was, and my superhero - my dad - would visit me every day, even though he wasn’t allowed in to see me, but he would just sit in the grounds to be close to me.

After I was discharged, my dad took all the family on holiday. He said we’d all been through so much we needed to get away. Tragically, whilst away, he suddenly died after being in a car accident. It was horrific. I had fully recovered by now, but feared I might relapse. I didn’t though. In fact, I haven’t experienced an episode of psychosis since.

I gained so much strength from my dad and in life he really helped me to recover.

Since then, I had another baby, a son, and after he was born I became a single mum again and have been ever since. When I was pregnant the second time I had a lot of healthcare support in the run up to the birth and I didn’t get unwell again. In fact, I’ve never had to have any mental health support since first having PP.

Driven by my own experience, I went back to college and retrained as a psychotherapist so I can help others who have experienced mental illness. I’ve also started volunteering for APP’s Muslim Women’s Support Group. There was so little awareness when I experienced PP that it took me 25 years to find peer support through APP – which I discovered after a Facebook ad popped up on my feed.

The Muslim Mum’s Cafe Group is so important on many levels, but what is particularly important for me is that, as human beings, and this goes back to the beginning of time, we’ve always lived in tribes.

And for a Muslim woman, because our experiences can be unique to our culture, finding other women who look like us, who sound like us and who have been through some of the things we have is invaluable.

There’s a huge cultural aspect to PP in my community and stigma is very much alive and well, so being visible and sharing my story is so important because many Muslim women still don’t seek help.

I know that having PP is a really scary time, but I want others to know that there is help out there, you’re not alone and the APP community is here for you. And, like me, you can recover.

27 August 2025

Aimee’s story: I wish I could have spoken to someone else like me when I was in hospital

In the years since I gave birth I felt completely overwhelmed by shame and guilt – until I met someone else who had experienced postpartum psychosis (PP). Getting that peer support from APP helped me come to terms with what I had been through - and marked the first time I felt any degree of normality since giving birth.

I had been in hospital for almost a year after becoming unwell with PP. There were times when I honestly didn’t think I would get better. In fact, I think if I could have spoken to someone else who had been through it when I was in hospital I might have found hope and recovery sooner. But today, me and my son George have the absolute best bond, I’m back at work and I’m even managing George’s junior rugby team. There was a time when I never could have imagined this life.

My pregnancy was generally fine – up until the point that I was induced, got sepsis and had to have an emergency C-section. I was in hospital for about five days and I didn’t get much sleep. As a single mum, I lived with my mum at the time and, when I first brought George home, she noticed something was really wrong with how I was behaving. It was as though I went completely round the twist – believing that the girl from The Exorcist was living in my wardrobe and thinking that I was going to die or George was going to die. I also stopped my mum from touching George because I believed she was poisonous and that the poison would seep out of her blood and get into him. I wasn’t sleeping and I was excessively cleaning and panic buying things. I was also talking manically and was very hyperactive.

It was a strange situation because I didn’t think there was anything wrong with me, it was everyone around me, all my family members, who noticed that there was something very wrong.

I agreed to go back to the maternity unit for a check up and was assessed in hospital by psychiatrists. I was incredibly manic at the time and becoming really out of control. They gave me a lot of sedatives and put a section on me, which they then lifted. That was when I was admitted to a Mother and Baby Unit (MBU).

A couple of hours later the sedatives wore off and I completely flipped out. I was restrained and injected and, from that point on, I barely remember a thing. It was like I woke up in hospital and it was next year.

During that period I was moved between the MBU, a psychiatric intensive care unit and two other psychiatric hospitals. I wasn’t responding to medication, so it took a few months to find the right one and come round from the psychosis. But for some time I was basically like a zombie in a chair - dribbling, non-verbal, unkempt and putting on a lot of weight. During this time my mum looked after George but she also looked after me – advocating on my behalf at the hospital and asking for more support.

Being in hospital was traumatic. At one point I was on a mixed ward and I was punched in the face and sexually assaulted by a couple of the male patients there. In December of last year I started having really distressing nightmares about my experience there.

Luckily, the all-women hospital I was moved to was where things started to improve. The clozapine was working and the environment was much better – the staff were lovely and being among all women patients and having more homely areas and activities to take part in really helped. I started to get snapshots of memory back. They let me have more visitors as well, and at one point I was able to go home for a night at a time. They also used to help me shower and help me do my hair and make-up, bringing a degree of normality back into my life.

Saying that, my recovery has been quite slow. I was on clozapine for two and a half years after being discharged and my follow-up care wasn’t great – possibly because it was during the pandemic. I was never offered any therapy and I had put on ten stone while in hospital, so I was physically unfit as well.

I eventually came off the clozapine in 2022 and was put on antidepressants but I wasn’t sleeping and kept waking up with night terrors. Eventually, I found a private therapist who was fantastic and helped me talk through my trauma and work on my self esteem.

She helped me come to terms with what had happened and helped me to understand that it was an illness – it was nothing that I had done wrong.

It was around that time I found APP, too. I got in touch with Ellie from the peer support team and took part in my first zoom café group. I was then matched with Krystal as my one-to-one peer supporter who was also really great. It was the first time I had met anyone else who had experienced PP and who had been through a similar trauma. Talking to others who have been there really gives you hope and helps you feel less ashamed and alone.

I have since been diagnosed with bipolar but it hasn’t stopped me living my life. Speaking with others who can relate was a big turning point. And my mum has been a wonderful support and the therapy really helped me too. I think it’s important to reach out for that help because locking it away is the worst thing you can do. You need to process it and you need to find hope to help you recover more quickly.

I feel so lucky that me and George have such a great bond now – he’s such a mummy’s boy.

I was worried it might never happen because we were separated for such a long time and it took a little while but we got there.

I just want others to know that you can be in the absolute worst place ever, but it does get better. It’s hard work and it takes time but you can do it. You just need to learn to reach out and ask for help. If you feel like your meds aren’t right - say so. If you feel any warning signs creeping back in - go and get help. Plodding along and saying that everything’s OK when it isn’t is the worst thing to do. I never had that hope which is why I struggled so much and for so long. I genuinely believe that if I spoke to someone like me when I was at my worst it would have made a huge difference. Everyone needs to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

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