Personal Stories

Meet our ambassadors

Our ambassadors help us to get our message out there to a much bigger audience thanks to their profile and influence.

To find out more, click on the links to each story below.

Read Laura’s story here

Read Hugo’s story here

Read Catherine’s story here

Meet our storytellers

APP’s storytellers are individuals who have been affected by postpartum psychosis and have shared their story to help others and raise awareness.

To read our stories, click on the links below.

Read Arina’s story here

Read the full story here

Read Nicola’s story here

Read Alexander’s story here

Read Ruth’s story here

Read Alison’s story here

Read Joanne’s story here

Read Gina’s story here

Read Ailania’s story here

Read Anneka’s story here

Read Jade’s story here

Read Nia’s story here

Read Zebunisa’s story here

Read Toni’s story here

Read Ruth’s story here

Read Charity’s story here

Read Alexandra’s story here

Read Katherine’s story here

Read Fiona’s story here

Read Chloe’s story here

Read Lobeh’s story here

Read Sally’s story here

Read Hannah’s story here

Read Charlotte’s story here

Read Danielle’s story here

Read Claire’s story here

Read Eve’s story here

Read Catherine’s story here

Read Jocelyn’s story here

Read the full story here

Read Emma’s story here

Here is a further collection of personal stories, poetry, art and videos created by women, their partners or family and friends who have experienced postpartum psychosis (PP).

If you have any pieces that you would like to share or like to contribute, please email us.

Corinne's Story
Corinne shares her experiences of suffering with PP
My PP Pits List
The things about PP which hindered my recovery and I find hardest to deal with.
Lindsey aLindsey's Story Lindsey's blog shares her experiences of PP
LauraDockerill2Laura's Story
Laura shares her experiences of suffering with PP
2018_Jasmine aJasmine's Story Jasmine shares her experience of suffering with PP in 2016. RuthWells aRuth's Story Ruth describes her experiences of suffering with PP ten years ago.
CH-J2bClaire's Story Claire shares her poetry about her experiences of suffering with PP. 2018_RachelHolliday_DSC_0784aaRachel's Story Rachel describes her experiences of suffering with PP twice and how APP helped her journey to recovery.
stv_Oct17Catherine's Story
Catherine describes her experiences with PP and how volunteering and meeting other mums helped her.
2018 Jenny aJenny's Story 'And still it rained down, crosshatching the sky' 
Jenny describes her experience of PP
CatheringCatherine's Story
Catherine recounts her journey into postpartum psychosis, and how she found healing in unexpected ways.
baby finger bw_1Jane's Story
Jane, a community psychiatric nurse, describes her own experience of perinatal mental health problems after the birth of her third child and her personal journey to recovery. Read Jane's Story here and also, here.
IMG_7265Jen's Story
Jen describes her journey after suffering with postpartum psychosis in 2014 and the subsequent support she received through APP's peer support service.
Jen's Story Jen shares her experience of PP, via BBC World Service
FionaFiona's Story
Fiona shares her story after suffering with postpartum psychosis in 2015.
EleEle's Story
Ele shares her poetry after suffering with postpartum psychosis in 2016.
Caroll2Carroll's Story
Carroll shares her journey suffering with postpartum psychosis in 2003.
val-rapson-3Val's Story
Val, a mother of two, describes how understanding her menopausal psychosis was the final piece in her mental health jigsaw. As featured on BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour.
sue2Sue's Story
Sue shares her powerful poetry detailing her experiences suffering from postpartum psychosis.
floramervin_smlSecrets and Lies: David's Story 
David’s mother, Flora, suffered from postpartum psychosis in 1933, and died in 1943, before the advent of the NHS.
KathrynKathryn's Story
Here Kathryn describes her thoughts, fears and delusions she experienced and the support she received from staff in a Mother & Baby Unit.
 Husband in a Storm
This book tells the story of my journey, from a husband’s point of view, as my wife travelled from a happy confident woman through postpartum psychosis and out the other side.
Rainbow stormIt was the best of times, it was the worst of times - by Daniel
Here Daniel gives a detailed account of his wife's PP after the birth of his first child and her return to being the woman he met and fell in love with
Sanchita-Islam-photoSanchita's Story
Sanchita Islam is a successful artist and writer who has experienced two episodes of PP and campaigns for better mental health care for mothers worldwide.
Klimt Artwork

Charlotte's Story
Charlotte was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder when she was 20. She became pregnant with her first child at 25 and tells of her experiences throughout pregnancy and PP recovery.

PP & how I avoided it second time around
Bipolar Pendulum magazine article.
Purple Flowers Caroline's Story
This story gives a detailed account of Caroline's first experience of childbirth in 1982 and her journey through PP. Positively, she went on to have two extremely satisfactory home births.
Anna

Anna's Story
Anna details the mania, panic and anxiety she experienced. She tells of the shock of becoming ill with PP out of the blue.

Three short pieces
Depicting varied PP experiences written by Natasha, Sarah and Andrea.
 FloatingNicola & John's story
Nicola experienced PP after the birth of her daughter in 2004. The Mother & Baby Unit where she stayed asked her to write about her experiences. Nicola's husband tells his story too.

Videos

Visit APP's Youtube channel for the latest videos >
A few words from women who have experienced Postpartum Psychosis

A few words from women who have experienced PP

'Take Heart' A mother & daughter talk about Postpartum Psychosis

'Take Heart' A mother & daughter talk about postpartum psychosis

'Then & Now' Motherhood & Postpartum Psychosis

'Then & Now' Motherhood & postpartum psychosis

My personal journey through Postpartum Psychosis

My personal journey through postpartum psychosis

A video to explain Postpartum Psychosis to my friends

A video to explain postpartum psychosis to my friends

Dr Angela Walsh discussing St Georges Mother & Baby Unit

Dr Angela Walsh discussing St Georges Mother & Baby Unit. Note: phone no. shown is no longer active

Andreas Personal Story

My Story


Poetry

Tick Tock BY JENNY STEVENSON

Tick tock, tick tock
There’s no going back, our lives are changed forever.
We’re three, he’s ours, I’m happy.

Tick tock, tick tock
This is hard, relentless, it’s down to me.
I’m anxious, I’m tired, keep going. See more...

 


Circus BY SARAH SPRING

Roll up, roll up, I am the ringmaster.
Marvel at my commands and ready wit,
Beast and man dumb before me, lapping my pronouncements
like poisoned condensed milk.
No question who is in charge.
I am taller than the tent pole,
Wider than the tent.
Roll up, roll up, and see the shocking show. See more...


Pacing BY SARAH SPRING

I am a pacer, perfecting my slipper-shod shuffle.
Restless pinions up and down the shiny tunnel connecting nowheres,
Urgent and pointless.
Rubber soles thinner as my soul thins.
Away from the elation and celestial light.
Hard tiles resist, Passive receptors of weary steps.
Tread, trod, trodden
Grimly printing my dwindling weight
Corporeal and grave
Gravid no longer.


Send No Flowers BY SARAH SPRING

Revelation.

He is a caricature of himself: self conscious and pedestrian, a deadpan voice, unremarkable features. His questions, slick and predictable, come rolling off his tongue like textbook reflexes. He is not listening to me. I crouch on the bed. My baby needs changing. I perform this operation with aggressive competence, resisting the urge to put the moulded cardboard “bedpan” into which I soak cotton wool balls with exaggerated efficiency on my head (it looks uncannily like a stetson). See more...


Beautiful Blessing BY VICTORIA RIBBONS

I am so happy. Blooming they call it.
We worry about you -
mummy must still take her tablets.
To make her better, to keep us safe.
We stare at you on the screen,
Our bouncing bean. Our precious little girl.
I do not know why but sadness encompasses me
It drowns me, it steals my bloom. See more...


 Racing BY Strawberry55

Fireworks

Laughing away it felt so good
But now I know it was high mood
Confident as anything it felt so right
But fears as well, scared of the night

I hadn't slept for eleven nights
Delusional and seeing sights
Racing thoughts, fast, fast, fast
There were so many, they were so vast See more...

 


Time for another BY JENNY STEVENSON

Mum with toddlerIt must be time for another,
You can't have just one son.
He'll have no one to play with, be all alone,
And that would be no fun.

It must be time for another,
Sticking at one's not fair. See more...


Illness, recovery & parenthood BY  KATHRYN GRANT

spinning-worldPsycho world
The world is spinning away from me.

 

I hear voices I recognise, see faces I know,
But the harder I look, the more intently I hear,
The further and further they go.
The world is spinning away from me.

I've lost my grip on everything. See more...


My journey to recovery BY  NIKKI YOUNG

Looking back now I realise just how far I have come
since that awful illness after becoming a new mum
1 in 1000 mothers can be affected, yet none of us knew
a mixture of scary symptoms, not just feeling blue

I needed support and had to stay away from my home
thrown into the deep end, feeling afraid and alone
my new baby girl was thankfully there with me
but I didn't have a clue what to do or how to be See more...


Natasha's 'Reunited' Scrapbook Pages

When you were only five days old, mummy became very ill and had to go into hospital for three weeks with a severe form of postnatal illness. While she was getting better, daddy looked after you with the help of nanny and grandad who loved giving you cuddles. Mummy missed you very much and looked forward to seeing you again. You visited mummy in hospital a few times and you were always asleep in your pram looking beautiful and content. The sparkles on the first page represent the tears shed at that time. The second page shows the beautiful day we were all reunited.