Helen Flanagan's nanny rang her parents to take children from her during psychosis episode

Soap star Helen Flanagan has opened up on the extent of her psychosis episode following a bad reaction to her ADHD medication that meant her parents looked after her kids

Helen Flanagan has revealed her parents were called to take her children off her as a matter of urgency.

The former Coronation Street star suffered a psychosis episode when she had a "bad reaction" to her ADHD medication. Following her split from fiancé Scott Sinclar, Helen spiraled into a “very scary” psychotic episode while on her dream New Year’s break in Bali with their children Matilda, nine, Delilah, six, and Charlie, three.

It also affected her while at home as she shared how her children's nanny called her parents because she thought there was a man outside her house. Helen had a "very, very bad" break-in when she was 22 as three men entered her home. "So when I was in my psychosis, I thought there was a man inside my house trying to break in my house with my kids," she shared.

Helen told the Daily Mail's The Life of Bryony podcast: "And basically while I was driving home, I mean honestly, it's horrendous, I could have killed someone, I was driving, and because I was so bad on this medication, I thought there was somebody in my boot. I kept stopping my car all the time, because I can see someone jumping in my boot, because I was in a psychosis.

"I thought I could see someone, but my nanny came, and my mum had to take the children away from me." Helen added: "My mum and dad looked after my kids for about a month, and then sometimes they would sleep at mine, sometimes they would sleep at my parents, just till I just got myself, like, really good again.

"I couldn't love my children anymore I literally took medication from a doctor that I thought was going to make me better and it just obviously reacted really badly." She admitted the hardest thing was explaining what had happened to her children's nursery teacher. "I had to explain to her that that I am a fit mum, I am a good mum," Helen said. "I think that was just, I think that was just fucking s**t, to be honest."

Earlier this year, Helen discussed her devastating breakdown following her split from footballer fiancé Scott after 13 years together. She said: “My kids weren’t with me on Christmas Day because I like to be really fair with my ex, and it sounds so silly because it was only one day, but it hit me really hard. The plan was for me to take them to Bali for New Year instead, and although I enjoyed it, I didn’t feel myself. I was struggling. I felt terrible when I got back, I was crying all the time, I felt so low.”

Opening up to The Mirror, Helen said she realised she was carrying unresolved trauma over the 2022 split with Scott and was diagnosed with psychosis. Helen said: “I don’t see it as a break-up, I see it as a divorce. We were together 13 years. But instead of processing it all, I threw myself into work and shut off my emotions. I just went into survival mode. Then it all came to the surface earlier this year and I was mentally and physically breaking down.” Helen added: “It was really sad and very scary. I was seeing things and I felt like I was in danger all the time.”

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