Adele pays tribute to best friend after being diagnosed with postpartum psychosis

14 August 2018, 11:01 | Updated: 14 August 2018, 11:55

The singer shared a selfie of her and best friend who fell ill after giving birth to her son six months ago.

Adele has paid tribute to her best friend after she was diagnosed with postpartum psychosis. 

The 30-year-old posted a selfie of her and Laura Dockrill on Instagram, and used it as an opportunity to direct fans to read her first hand account of being diagnosed with the rare form of PND. 

Adele wrote: "This is my best friend. We have been friends for more of our lives than we haven’t. 

 

This is my best friend. We have been friends for more of our lives than we haven’t. She had my beautiful godson 6 months ago and it was the biggest challenge of her life in more ways than one. She has written the most intimate, witty, heartbreaking and articulate piece about her experience of becoming a new mum and being diagnosed with postpartum psychosis. Mamas talk about how you’re feeling because in some cases it could save yours or someone else’s life x Link in my bio to Laura’s story.

A post shared by Adele (@adele) onAug 13, 2018 at 9:52am PDT

"She had my beautiful godson 6 months ago and it was the biggest challenge of her life in more ways than one. 

"She has written the most intimate, witty, heartbreaking and articulate piece about her experience of becoming a new mum and being diagnosed with postpartum psychosis. 

"Mamas talk about how you’re feeling because in some cases it could save yours or someone else’s life."

The NHS describes postpartum psychosis as "very different from the 'baby blues'. It's a serious mental illness and should be treated as a medical emergency."

The condition usually kicks in during the first two weeks of motherhood, and sufferers need to be treated in a special mother and baby psychiatric unit.

The Symptoms can include: 

• Hallucinations 
• Delusions – thoughts or beliefs that are unlikely to be true 
• A manic mood – talking and thinking too much or too quickly, feeling "high" or "on top of the world" 
• A low mood – showing signs of depression, being withdrawn or tearful, lacking energy 
• Having a loss of appetite, anxiety or trouble sleeping 
• Loss of inhibitions 
• Feeling suspicious or fearful 
• Restlessness 
• Feeling very confused 
• Behaving in a way that's out of character