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Adele shares best friend's story of postpartum psychosis: 'Mamas, talk about how you're feeling'

The singer opened up on Instagram about her best friend's bout with postpartum psychosis, a rare condition with severe symptoms.
/ Source: TODAY
By Randee Dawn

Adele shared a heartfelt message on Instagram Monday, introducing fans to her best friend in the world, writer Laura Lee Dockrill.

But her message was far from lighthearted, and focused on Dockrill's recent bout with postpartum psychosis:

As Adele explained in the caption, the birth of Dockrill's son triggered a rare mental reaction in the new mother, something more severe than postpartum depression.

According to a review of the disorder from the National Institutes of Health archives, postpartum psychosis occurs in one to two of every thousand new mothers, and there is a connection to bipolar disorder.

Dockrill detailed her experience in a blog post, which Adele linked to.

"It's not easy to admit that the worst time of your life was when your baby was born," Dockrill wrote. "Social media gives a very shiny exterior of life to be frank and it's not the full picture, so 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."

Symptoms of postpartum psychosis, which can develop within two to three days of giving birth, include "paranoid, grandiose or bizarre delusions, mood swings, confused thinking and grossly disorganized behavior," according to NIH.

I used to hate this photograph of me and had it hidden away with all the other baby stuff I didn’t want to look at but now I love it because it shows I survived. This week my baby turns 6 months old and I feel like it’s an achievement in more ways than one. I don’t usually do oversharing on social media (I’ve covered over my boobies here rather professionally as you can see for my dignity- not that I have much of that dignity stuff left anyway after the last 6 months and YES my nail varnish is chipped but if you had to change 15 nappies a day and have your arms elbow deep in washing up liquid your nails would be pretty chipped too and who gets a chance to paint their nails with a baby splodging around the place anyway?) but the more I’ve spoken about this experience AKA the WORST TIME OF MY ACTUAL LIFE the more I’ve realised the urgency of writing about it. More women and their partners have opened up with their own experiences that have just felt too ashamed or embarrassed to talk about it. It’s not easy to admit that the worst time of your life was when your baby was born. Social media gives a very shiny exterior of life to be frank and it’s not the full picture, so 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. You are not broken... Alrighty... I’m gonna be brave...so here we go... I have teamed up with @clemmie_telford to share my story (link in bio) There are a few thank yous I have to do to those starting with my true love @hugowhitenoise, my one and only spirit sister @adele, my baby love E.T @daisymaydock, my amazing parents and their partners, my partners family, my brother @hdurkle @sioby11 @pennygabriel @victoriabuzzington @el_matthews_ @annekaharry @thesabrinagrant @ssoufian @robertemmsactor @wesleygoode and my publishers @jennyjacoby @tinamories Love you all so much. You saved my life.

A post shared by LauraLeeDockrill (@lauraleedockrill) on

Adele herself experienced mental health issues after giving birth to her son Angelo in 2012. As she told Vanity Fair in 2016, she felt "very inadequate" even though she loved her little boy.

"I felt like I'd made the worst decision of my life," she said in the interview.

"Birth and motherhood is a shock to the system and traumatic and we shouldn't have to suffer in silence," wrote Dockrill. "You have to talk."

Dockrill is on the mend after spending two weeks in the hospital after an intervention. It's nice to see the two pals smiling again, and Adele is even the little guy's godmother!

But as the singer urges in her caption, "Mamas talk about how you're feeling because in some cases it could save yours or someone else's life."

Now, that's truly a best friend, forever.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text TALK to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.

Follow Randee Dawn on Twitter.