Louise Thompson has shared her tips to stay calm and "connected while in hospital after being readmitted because of an “unexpected situation.”
Louise, who recently enjoyed a tree-top vacation with boyfriend Ryan Libbey, has been in and out of the hospital since giving birth to her son Leo and experiencing horrific PTSD.
Earlier this week, the former Made in Chelsea star, who featured on the show with her brother Sam Thompson and stars such as Jamie Laing and Spencer Matthews, revealed she's back in the hospital and has been forced to skip her “much needed” holiday.
On Thursday, she took to Instagram once again to share some tips for while anyone is in hospital, including things such as self-care, taking selfies and using your senses.
In a lengthy Instagram story, she explained: “Here are some things that have kept me feeling better… and by better I mean more connected to reality.
“When I was last in hospital for an extended period (felt like an eternity), I really detached from reality and couldn't even turn on a phone or concentrate on anything for longer than a minute. I've learnt a lot from that experience. TRY TO STAY CONNECTED AND CONTINUE AS NORMAL.
“Gosh, last time I even thought eating a chocolate Lindor ball my brother got me was going to kill me so I had to spit it out,” she added.
“Talk to whoever you can find. I spoke to a really sweet man with the charity sweetie trolley and he made me cry because he was so nice," she added.
Louise said that talking to family members and friends via social media can work, though warned fans not to be “offended” if nurses have to rush off to other patients.
Louise continued: “ANYTHING TO DISTRACT YOUR MIND. It might feel really weird messaging people about such significant life threatening events as if they're daily activities, but for me it has helped normalising (or making logic) of what has happened and talking about it this time around.
"Last time I think I waited until my brain had made sense of what had happened until I opened up to people or saw people and that was a LONG TIME to wait.
“Which brings me to my next point. Cry lots. It feels amazing.”
Louise then continued to say that taking selfies and looking in the mirror helps to “reaffirm our sense of selves.”
“Viewing your ‘self’ in the mirror is an everyday lived experience for many outside the hospital. I developed a fear of mirrors after being in the hospital for so long last time, so not letting that happen again,” she added.
Louise also noted how using your senses can help maintain mental clarity and also emphasised the importance of watching “things that make you go wow” and saving “things that make you laugh.”
Concluding her lengthy story post, Louise added: “If you can, brush your teeth. Last time I was in the hospital, I didn’t, and the next time I went to the dentist, they had to grind the brown spots off from around my gum line.”
Finally, she noted the importance of natural light, and explained: “Being able to look out of a window is a great privilege and not likely in a hospital. I've only been next to a window for a v short space of time, maybe a couple of days, but if you can find one at some point when you're allowed to mobilise then it might be nice as a gentle reminder of the outside world.
"AGAIN, this is only really poignant if you're bedbound or an inpatient for awhile.”
In November 2021, Louise remained in the hospital for five weeks after a near-death experience during the birth of her son, Leo.
Announcing his birth, she told fans: "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.
"Whilst Leo made a fairly quick recovery. I have been recovering in hospital for a month with various serious complications."
She also has ulcerative colitis and has been open with fans about how she manages her condition and the treatment she receives.
At the end of 2022, the reality TV star was also diagnosed with Lupus, and explained at the time: "So I'm suffering from that which is fabulous. It means that I'm really tired but I've also started to get really intolerable joint pain especially if I sit down for any amount of time if I cross my legs.
"I mean I was just on the bus going to one appointment this morning and when I stood up and started walking to the appointment and honestly me knees were in such agony."
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