Louise Thompson has shared her happiness at being able to finally use the kitchen in her new home after developing a phobia of the room.
The Made In Chelsea star, 31, suffered severe complications while giving birth in November and spent a month recovering in hospital after welcoming son, Leo-Hunter, who she shares with Ryan Libbey.
After the traumatic experience, she was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and as a result, she ended up struggling with anxiety - which she has now shared flares up in certain rooms in her home.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health condition caused by a traumatic experience.
Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder include flashbacks, nightmares, feeling very anxious and difficulty sleeping.
Taking to Instagram to celebrate being able to make pancakes in the stunning cooking area, she explained how she "never thought" she'd be able to use the kitchen after her "brain couldn’t handle all the change and total lack of familiarity/certainty" of the area that was completed whilst she was in hospital.
Alongside a short clip of her flipping batter in a pan, she typed: "No longer scared of food or the range. Words I never thought I'd say. I think the reason I developed such a major phobia of my kitchen is because every time I came in here I would react 100/10 anxiety and dissociate so I learnt to associate it with very bad things.
"It might have been triggered by the fact that I never saw this kitchen completed before coming home from hospital when I was still really unwell - I didn’t recognise the space or any of the stuff.
"I quite literally didn’t know where anything was or how to use anything for months. My brain couldn’t handle all the change and total lack of familiarity/certainty. To top things off I’ve only created very negative and panic induced memories in most of the rooms in our newly refurbed home."
Just two days before Christmas Day in 2021 - new mum Louise announced the arrival of her bundle of joy on Instagram and revealed the "happy news" she was being discharged from hospital to continue her recovery at home.
"5 weeks ago I gave birth to my beautiful baby boy Leo-Hunter Libbey weighing in at 7lbs. Unfortunately it wasn’t the easiest start for either of us. One ended up in NICU and the other ended up in ICU," she explained to her 1.3 million Instagram followers last week.
Louise went on to confirm Leo-Hunter made a "fairly quick" recovery but she was left battling "so many bad things" and admitted the experience has changed her outlook on life.
"To dance with death twice brings a whole new view of the world," she candidly admitted in her post.
Despite being able to return home in time for Christmas Day, due to Covid concerns, Louise, Ryan and Leo-Hunter were unable to host a big celebration.
Positive test results from planned guests scuppered plans for a family gathering, but the new mum - who classes herself as vulnerable to the virus - kept an optimistic outlook.
"It certainly wasn’t the Christmas that we had planned, but then again neither were the last three and I’m still feeling overwhelmingly blessed to be at home and in my little bubble," she wrote within a lengthy caption of a shot of herself in a wheelchair during her hospital stint.
"This photo was taken by one of the girls who kindly wheeled me up to the sky garden when I was able to move for the first time in ages - i cried buckets," she explained, as she praised the NHS in her emotional post.
* If you would like to speak to one of Tommy's midwives about your pregnancy, or need support and advice following a pregnancy loss, you can contact the team at midwife@tommys.org Or you can call them for free on 0800 014 7800 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm).
