The Irish Mail on Sunday

Lily Allen’s shocking Twitter confession

- By Katie Hind

LILY ALLEN yesterday revealed she has bipolar disorder, a potentiall­y crippling mental illness.

Writing on Twitter, the singer also said she suffered posttrauma­tic stress disorder after her son was stillborn.

The revelation­s came during a heated Twitter debate about the treatment of pensioners. When told by another user he felt she had mental illness, she replied: ‘I DO have mental health issues. Bi-polar, postnatal depression, and PTSD, does that make my opinion void?’

She later explained to her 5.9 million followers that her PTSD occurred after her son was stillborn in 2010, six months into her pregnancy.

She described the ordeal for the first time in graphic detail yesterday, saying: ‘I lay in a hospital bed with my deceased son stuck between my legs halfway out of my body for ten hours.’

Lily, 31, is well known for her erratic behaviour – often appearing to be drunk in public and making outspoken political interventi­ons.

Sufferers of bipolar disorder – once known as manic depression – experience extreme mood swings that can last for months.

The disorder, thought to affect some 40,000 people in Ireland, has received more attention in recent years after stars like actress Catherine Zeta-Jones admitted suffering with it.

Lily has previously spoken out about the lack of funding for mental health treatment. Speaking about a mentally ill stalker who terrorised her for years, she said authoritie­s had failed him.

The singer has also spoken of her postnatal depression following the births of her two young daug hters, Ethel, five, and Marnie, four.

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 ??  ?? ORDEAL: Lily described her stillbirth anguish on Twitter
ORDEAL: Lily described her stillbirth anguish on Twitter
 ??  ?? MUM OF TWO: She also suffered postnatal depression
MUM OF TWO: She also suffered postnatal depression
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