Lacey took to making handmade self-care products to help with her recovery from postpartum psychosis. Here are some of her self-help tips. Read more about Lacey’s inspiring journey @soapandhopex

Self Help:
There are a number of things you can try yourself, as well as talking, to and help you cope.
Don’t Compare yourself:
The perfect Social media mum, That perfect mum does not exist. You have probably seen all these other perfect mum’s and wonder how they are keeping it all together.
Well truth is, they probably are not! you just see a snippet of their day and miss the real part!
You do not have to be..
The perfect housewife, your house does not have to be immaculate, let the washing pile up, leave the washing up. It is not important, keep your workload as low as possible.
Think of you, and your baby. The house work and normal life chores can wait!
Breathing:
Breathing exercises and mindfulness are a life saver when you are feeling overwhelmed and overly anxious. By concentrate on your breathing and making a steady repeatable rhythm with deep breaths in and out, your brain calms down and starts to relax. This simple breathing technique sends signals to your nervous system to calm down your relaxation response, reducing your heart rate and blood pressure and lowering stress levels.
Exercise:
When we exercise, the hormone serotonin, (the one that controls the stabilisation of our mood) is released.
Going for a walk, a run (I am not a runner!), a swim or any form of exercise is a natural way to lift your mood. This improves and lifts our mood and help with sleep. I found swimming worked well for me, I have always found being in water relaxing, it gave me half an hour alone, and counts as exercise because it raised my heart rate and released serotonin.