Postpartum Psychosis: “Trapped Forever” - Eve Canavan’s Story of Survival & Advocacy

Jen sits down with Eve Canavan, a survivor of postpartum psychosis, maternal mental health advocate, and co-founder of Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week.

Eve shares what it was really like when things shifted after her son was born. It started with little red flags her mum picked up on, though nobody recognised the initial signs at the time, followed by frantic behaviour described by her husband and her own vivid hallucinations of her duvet dancing. From there came weeks of reaching out for help only to have it brushed off as normal sleep deprivation or feeding struggles.

They talk about the terrifying feeling of being trapped, the overwhelming panic, and how things finally changed when her husband brought her in for a proper psychiatric assessment where someone actually listened and admitted her to a psychiatric unit. Eve talks about the relief of compassionate care, the recovery tools that helped her heal - including medication, CBT, EMDR, and later support for complex PTSD - and why she keeps pushing to change how professionals respond so other families do not have to go through it alone.

Logan, founder of The Dad Business, joins me for an open conversation about identity, queer family building, and the many decisions, conversations, and experiences that have shaped his family’s journey.

Together, we explore Logan’s path from identifying as a lesbian when he met his wife to transitioning and embracing the role of “Dad” as they prepared to welcome their first child. We discuss navigating gender identity within a long-term relationship, what it means to build a family using a known donor, parenting six children, and the realities of raising neurodivergent children, including children with complex medical needs.

Logan also shares reflections on parenting alongside his wife following her late diagnosis of AuDHD, how their identities continue to evolve, and the importance of community, belonging, and creating a family that reflects their values rather than conventional expectations.

This conversation offers an honest look at modern family life, identity, and parenthood, while exploring the many ways people build loving, connected families on their own terms.

What if, instead of asking “Why can’t you just do it?”, we started asking “What might be making this hard right now?”In this episode, I’m joined by Nicola Reeke, founder of The PDA Space, for an honest conversation about PDA, neurodivergent family life, parenting differently and understanding the difference between capacity and capability.We chat about reducing demands, transitions, sensory overwhelm, body doubling, scaffolding, burnout, internalised ableism and the pressure to parent or live according to someone else’s expectations.A conversation about compassion, connection and finding what actually works for you and your family.

The PDA Space Global Online Summit. Nicola’s 2026 Global Online Summit takes place 1st–6th October, with this year’s theme Capacity & Capability and 27 free webinars bringing together voices from across the PDA community. Access the flyer here: PDA SPACE SUMMIT 2026

Website: The PDA Space

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