Louise Thompson has shared a candid update after she was taken to hospital last week. The former Made In Chelsea star has been open and honest about her struggles with postnatal depression following the birth of her son last December.
She and fiancé Ryan Libbey, who also starred in the E4 reality show, welcomed their baby boy Leo-Hunter into the world before the end of the year but things weren't plain sailing for the pair to become a family of three. Louise was diagnosed with PTSD after suffering complications while giving birth to her son.
She later revealed to her followers that Leo-Hunter had been treated in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and she had been treated in the adult ICU after the birth. On Christmas Day 2021, she shared a heartfelt post in which she paid tribute to the NHS staff who "worked through the night to save my life".
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Louise has since updated her fans and followers on her journey as a first-time mum while struggling with her mental health as a result of Leo's birth. In a fresh update, the mum-of-one has said she has experienced times when she felt she was "not alive" after going through multiple traumatic incidents, including a fire at her home while heavily pregnant last year.
The 32-year-old said her brain had “basically shut down” and she had experienced panic attacks "back to back". In a lengthy video posted to Instagram, Louise spoke candidly about her experiences over the past few months but reassured her followers also struggling that they were "not alone," saying she wanted to “give them hope”.
It comes less than a week after Louise was admitted to hospital for the second time in a month to be treated for mental health issues, saying she would be taking a break from social media. She told viewers that despite appearing “well presented, put together and happy” in her video, it had taken her six attempts to record and things had been "really bad" for her recently.
"Mental health is the most cruel, invisible disease out there but I want you to know you are not alone," she said. "You can never predict (it), you never think these things will happen to you I had everything and it’s all been completely ripped away from me.”
The reality TV star added there had been times she had wished that airplanes would crash into her house and could not think about anything "except death". "I was scared of everything in my house…I couldn’t see, couldn’t smell, couldn’t talk… when I would talk I would panic because every word that came out of my mouth didn’t make sense," she said.
"I was not alive, I couldn’t have a normal thought. My brain basically shut down. When something really traumatic happens your brain can’t process it properly…and it means you live in fear."
Louise also said that she had been messaged by men whose partners who were also struggling and that she wanted to provide "pure reassurance" that things would get better. "I wish there was an easier way, there is no magic cure. This disease will teach you a great deal of patience,” she said. "But you have to keep going… please choose life and get help."
She ended the video on a more positive note, smiling and blowing kisses to the camera, despite being still visibly emotional. "Things change, everything in life is transient," she said. "Life will get better again. You will find joy, you will find happiness… Please don’t feel alone. There are ways out, so ask for help… There is no magic cure, this disease will teach you a great deal of patience - I never had any patience!
"You have to keep going, you have to, because there’s too many people with physical diseases that have no choice, so please choose life, and get help."
Alongside the video, Louise wrote in a lengthy caption in which she said she was "not going to sugar coat things" after her "b*oody rough ride over the past year". She penned: "My rationale for doing this video was to try and help someone that might be suffering in silence or feeling alone but I’m not sure whether I will be able to achieve that."
She added: "My life went from a 9/10 to a 1/10 in the space of about a month. I didn’t do anything to deserve it, but sh*t just happened. I survived a house fire, a few near death experiences, a long old stint in hospital, and some CATASTROPHIC mental health breakdowns. More recently I’ve been readmitted because of some severe colon problems where I was about 2 days away from ending up with life changing surgery. It doesn’t get any easier, although at least this time round I actually knew where I was and what my name was."
And fans were quick to message Louise as they were left in awe of her honesty and bravery to speak out. @christinas.fitnessjourney said: "You are honestly incredible, opening up about your experiences must be so difficult but you are helping so many people. Your stronger than you think and braver than you believe, one day at a time."
@ultimategirlgang wrote: "Louise you are amazing. Well done for sharing this. Everything you are going through and you still have the strength to help people. So much love to you, Ryan and Leo." @vivis_makeup replied: "You are so brave and inspiring and I’m following you lately with awe of how strong you really are even if you can’t see it. Lots of love and light."
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