18 | Gen - postpartum psychosis, psychiatric hospital, MBU, medication

Perinatal Stories Australia

As a psychologist, Gen was familiar with psychiatric wards, but with no history of mental ill health or any risk factors she certainly never expected to be on the ‘other side’ - admitted as a patient to an acute ward shortly after the birth of her son, Arlo.

Following a relatively smooth pregnancy and delivery, Gen’s early postpartum was fraught with mastitis and the eventual development of sepsis. However, the life-threatening infection was surpassed by the rapid decline in Gen’s mental health, with warping clocks and the belief that she was famous, among many other delusions and hallucinations that unexpectedly took hold.

From pacing the halls of a public psych ward for hours to contributing to the design of one of the new public MBUs in Sydney, this is Gen’s story of overcoming her own internal stigma, advocating for better models of care in mental health wards, and the love of her partner, Lizz, who picked up on the red flags when no one else could.

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MADE WITH LOVE by Rebecca (host, founder, storyteller) x