Elaine Hanzak was a confident, efficient and capable woman until the birth of her son resulted in her needing hospitalisation due to developing puerperal psychosis, an extreme form of postnatal depression. Due to her illness she was unable to drive for a while as her suicidal thoughts could have resulted in injury, or worse, to herself or others, yet to the uninformed eye she appeared ‘fine’.

Once recovered Elaine wrote ‘Eyes without Sparkle –a journey through postnatal illness’ (Radcliffe, 2005), to offer others hope and also to demonstrate how a mental illness can develop and become so disabling. She constantly challenges the stigma and ignorance surrounding mental health issues.

She has now become an international speaker and expert through experience on the topic of postnatal illness, advising from individual level up to the European Parliament. She keeps a regular blog and website about her activities plus news and developments in her area at www.hanzak.com