Raechel to run the Windsor Half! We say Thank You to Raechel, who will be running the Windsor Half Marathon on 29th September in aid of APP! Raechel decided to fundraise after suffering with Postpartum Psychosis in 2018 and receiving peer support help from APP. Raechel says: "In January 2018, 5 months after the birth of our daughter Aoife, I was diagnosed with Postpartum Psychosis. A cruel albeit rare mental illness which affects 1-2 women out of a 1000 births. It was quite possibly the most traumatic experience of my life and came as a huge shock, especially given that I had no history of post natal mental illness from my previous two pregnancies. During my episode of Postpartum Psychosis I experienced severe mood fluctuations from feeling incredibly high (mania) to extreme lows. I had terrifying hallucinations both visual and auditory (hearing voices) combined with racing thoughts, delusions and paranoia. My senses of smell, sight and taste were also heightened and I hardly slept. My brain literally went awol and I lost touch with reality. Little is known on what causes an episode but what is known, is that biological, hormonal, previous traumas, sleep deprivation and stress play a part in the development of the condition. I am pleased to say that I have been symptom free from the psychosis for over a year now. I do however face a daily battle of depression, anxiety of going into relapse, and social anxiety which is sadly an after effect from an episode - recovery is slow and frustrating at times. It is like your whole personality has been stripped from you and it takes time to rebuild your confidence. I have been extremely lucky to have received the best treatment and care from the perinatal and early intervention teams in Wokingham and to have the most supportive and caring family, friends and a wonderful husband who did not give up hope that I would eventually come round and start to get better. Some women are not so lucky... APP provide a vital lifeline to women and families that have experienced Postpartum Psychosis. A safe space to connect with fellow sufferers and carers, so they do not feel isolated. They are there for sufferers that may not have the access to the care they need, and provide great support as most of their volunteers have suffered PP themselves. They do incredible work for raising awareness and to silence the stigma. They are also involved in research, so the condition and it's causes can be understood even further. Running has played a major part in my recovery, so it seemed quite fitting for me to do a run and raise some money for this amazing charity. It's been a difficult time but I can proudly say that I survived and many more women will be given hope that they will survive and get better too. Thank you so much for taking the time to read. Donations however large or small, whatever you can spare, will be gratefully received." Please visit her JustGiving page here and donate what you can. Thank you so much Raechel and we hope the training goes well over the next couple of months! A big Thank You to Kat who walked 23 miles in the Glasgow Royal Bank of Scotland Kiltwalk on Sunday 28th April and raised over £500 in aid of APP - amazing! Kat chose to support APP as she says: "For anyone who knows me this charity and its cause have been a major influence and passion of mine throughout my nursing career. This has only increased in my new amazing role as a Perinatal Mental Health Nurse. Action on Postpartum Psychosis support women and families affected by Postpartum Psychosis (PP). PP is a severe mental illness which begins extremely suddenly following childbirth. In the UK, just over 1400 women each year experience PP." Kat said she had so much fun taking part that she plans to do it again next year for APP, which would be amazing - Thank you Kat! Thanks to Kat and to everyone who supported her and donated to APP - we couldn't do this with you. Snowdonia walk for perinatal charities They say: "The aim of this is to raise awareness of perinatal mental health, and raise funds for charities that support women and families affected by perinatal mental illness. Our chosen charities are PANDAs who provide pre and postnatal depression advice and support and APP who support women and families affected by postpartum psychosis. Any donations will be very much appreciated, to help these wonderful charities to continue supporting women and families affected by perinatal mental illness." Please visit their Virgin Money Giving page here and donate what you can. A big Thank You to everyone taking part - we hope the sun shines and you have a fantastic walk on 22nd June! Grand Charity Sale in Llanmorlais Village Hall! A big Thank You to the team putting on a 'Grand Charity Sale' at Llanmorlais Village Hall on Sunday 16th June in aid of APP and Llanrhidian Primary School! The Grand Charity Sale is on from 10am until 3pm on Sunday 16th June, at Llanmorlais Village Hall, Swansea, SA4 3TZ. There'll be lots of items on sale including a variety of fab gifts (Father's Day is fast approaching!) plus cakes, bakes, and a variety of refreshments as well as clothes and all sorts! They say: "Come and join us to support APP & Llanrhidian Primary School. All proceeds to be divided equally between our two organisations. If you have items to donate to the sale: For more information click here for the Facebook event page. With big thanks to everyone involved - we hope you have a fantastic day! Kimberley's eight hour fitness event! A very big Thank You to Kimberley, who is hosting an 8-hour fitness event on 18th August in aid of APP! The event is taking place at Lakenheath Pavilion from 10:00-18:00, in Lakenheath, Suffolk. You can sign up for any (or all!) of the different eight hour long sessions, run by trained instructions, for a small donation, and we're told there'll also be a bouncy castle for children and food and drinks will be provided too. What a fun way to raise funds for APP! Kimberley says: "After the birth of my first child in 2015 I was diagnosed with Postpartum Psychosis after displaying some very disturbing behaviours such as; delusions, beliefs and actions. I became severely mentally ill very fast and was eventually sectioned. This was a very terrifying time for me and those close to me. Mind and APP helped me so much throughout my diagnosis and continue to help me now! Although I have recovered from the Psychosis I battle with Depression. I have recently had my second child and avoided the onset of Psychosis with the help from professionals, my family and these charities! I would love to give something to these charities for quite literally saving my life!" You can find out more and donate via Kimberley's Virgin Money Giving page here or contact us for more info. Thanks so much to Kimberley for organising this fab event! Emma and her mum take on the Trekfast Challenge! We wish Emma and her mum the very best of luck as they attempt to complete the 25k Trekfest challenge on the SAS training ground of the Brecon Beacons on 6th July, in the hope to raise some funds for Action on Postpartum Psychosis "a charity very close to [their] hearts." Emma says: "Towards the end of 2014, following the birth of my second son, I was admitted to a mother and baby unit after being diagnosed with a rare illness we had never heard of until then, postpartum psychosis. My son and I remained in the unit for 8 weeks until I was well enough to return home and continue the recovery. In 2014 it was estimated that only 3 per cent of the country had access to perinatal mental health care, whereas now the country is on course to achieve full geographical coverage with the support of the Action on Postpartum Psychosis charity. At the time I was admitted to the nearest mother and baby unit which was over one hour away, but luckily I was able to get a bed and stay with my baby, many others unfortunately are not as lucky. There are now 17 mother and baby units across the UK, which on average have 8-10 beds per unit. Thank you for reading, and your generosity, however big or small is massively appreciated." Please visit their GoFundMe page here and donate what you can. Thank you so much to Emma and her mum for all their support and hard work - we hope you have a fantastic day on 6th July in the fabulous Brecon Beacons! Would you like to enjoy the exhilarating and unforgettable feeling of a skydive - flying through the clouds from over 10,000 ft at up to 120 mph? If you are looking for the experience of a lifetime, we would be delighted if you would like to take on a sponsored free fall parachute jump in aid of APP, and if you raise enough sponsorship, you can jump for free! We have teamed up with Skyline, a professional charity fundraising events organiser, to offer APP’s supporters this amazing experience of flying through the clouds. You will be strapped to your qualified British Parachute Association tandem instructor who does all the hard work for you, leaving you to enjoy the invigorating feeling of free falling before gliding to the ground. You can jump from any one of over twenty BPA approved airfields across the UK and no experience is necessary as you will be given training before your jump. Watch Skyline's exhilarating video of a Tandem Jump to get a feel for what it might be like for you, below: This incredible challenge will give you the biggest adrenaline rush you could ever imagine and you soar through the air knowing that you have helped raise invaluable funds for APP: as a small charity, your energy is vital to ensure we can keep operating our information and peer support services. We've had eight fantastic and very brave people skydiving in aid of APP already - find out about their amazing experiences: So what are you waiting for?! Book now to experience the challenge of a lifetime, or, contact us to find out more!
A huge Thank You to Dominic, who very bravely jumped out of a plane and did a skydive in aid of APP on 11th May! Dominic had a fantastic experience, with lots of sunshine and a gorgeous blue sky filled day, which certainly helped! Dominic chose to fundraise for APP after his sister suffered with PP, he said: "I’m doing this to help break the stigma of perinatal mental health and support those who need it most, like my sister did. Talking to my sister, Kerry, I said I wanted to a charity skydive and that’s when she mentioned I should do it for the charities close to her, and I felt that APP would be an amazing charity to support. When Kerry’s illness was at its worse I couldn't help as I didn't know anything about it. She was too scared to talk and too frightened about what might happen if she did. Now that she is better I know she reached out to charities like PANDAS and APP. Knowing that I couldn’t help my sister at the time, as she was too scared to talk or reach out, was extremely heart breaking not only for me but for our family and friends as well. This is why I have chosen to do a sky dive for APP, to raise the much needed money to keep charities like this going, as they were invaluable to her." Dominic has raised an amazing £550 so far! And you can still donate via his JustGiving page here. Thank you so much to Dominic and to everyone who so generously donated - we really couldn't do this without you! Ele said she wanted to fundraise after she developed postpartum psychosis after the birth of their son in 2016. She says "Three years on, I’m still recovering and keen to do anything I can to raise money for the charity which has helped me and my family so much on our journey, APP (Action on Postpartum Psychosis). I have benefited so much from the peer support programme in particular and the opportunity to meet other women near me who have been through a similar mental health crisis to me. Please visit their GoFundMe page here and donate what you can. Thank you. With huge thanks to a very brave Ele and Greg! If you are interested in doing a skydive in aid of APP click here to find out more. Oórlagh and team complete Belfast marathon! Huge thanks to Oórlagh and her amazing team of friends and family who took part in the Belfast Marathon and 9 Mile Walk on Sunday 5th May in aid of APP, and have so far raised over £2,500! What a fantastic achievement! Oórlagh's team also extended to Aberdeen where three members of her family did their own 9 miles and managed to raise over £300! You can still donate via Oórlagh's JustGiving page here. With thanks to everyone who took part, and everyone who's donated, we really couldn't do this without you!
Kat and her friend who supported the British Heart Foundation
The North Wales Perinatal Mental Health Team are coming together with colleagues, friends and representatives of lived experience, including APP Training Coordinator, Sally Wilson, to walk up Snowdonia on the 22nd of June, in aid of APP and PANDAs!
Please bring them to Llanmorlais Village Hall on Saturday 15th June from 10.30am til 3pm or contact Heather Heron to arrange to drop them off beforehand. Or buy your own table to sell your wares (second hand clothes & toys, cakes, farm produce etc, £25 per table, contact Heather Heron: 07866265696).If you: are willing to bake cakes, scones, biscuits to sell; can donate tea, coffee, milk, squash, donate a bottle or Father’s Day tombola gift; or if you can help on the day, please get in touch!"
- Megan's skydive on 30th June 2018
- Team APP's skydive on 16th September 2018
- Dominic's skydive on 11th May 2019
A big Thank You to Ele and her husband Greg, who are doing a skydive on 26th August in aid of APP!
I have to admit the idea of skydiving terrifies me as I’ve inherited my Dad’s vertigo, but I’ve learnt that fears take up as much space as you’ll give them so I’m keen to overcome the fear and jump to help other ladies in the future who will need the support of APP in their lives. Please help me raise money for this amazing cause! Every donation will help. My husband Greg will be jumping with me. Thank you in advance for your contribution to this cause that means such a huge amount to us."
