‘I was not OK’: The picture that lied
Laura Dockrill announced the birth of her son with her first love Hugo on social media. A few days later she was on a psychiatric ward.
Laura Dockrill is a writer, poet and illustrator. Her latest novel reflects her own story of a fairytale romance. Aged 14 she met Hugo and they became ‘best friends’ who spent all of their time together. After many plot twists, including a decade when they did not speak, they eventually realised that they were in love aged 30. When their son Jet was born she posted the happy news on social media. Laura was holding a glass of champagne, wearing bright pink lipstick and smiling broadly. That photo did not tell the whole story and a few days later she was in a psychiatric hospital, a ‘textbook’ case of the rare condition: postpartum psychosis. She believed that the man she’d loved since she was 14 was plotting to take her son from her.
Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: Erin Riley
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707
(Photo: Laura Dockrill announcing the birth of her son. Credit: Hugo White)
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