Hayden Panettiere slams those who suggest women with postpartum depression need to 'suck it up', admitting it was 'the most scary, debilitating, guilty feeling you can feel'
- The 26-year-old gave birth to her daughter Kaya in December of 2014 and sought treatment for postpartum depression in October of last year
- She said she was worried about sharing her story but has been 'floored' by the supportive response
- The Nashville star's TV character has also been suffering from a scary case of postpartum depression
- Hayden thinks anyone who implies the illness isn't real or women just need to 'get a grip' should 'get their head examined'
In a devastating case of life imitating art, actress Hayden Panettiere checked into a rehab facility for treatment for postpartum depression last year — at the same time her Nashville character, Juliette Barnes, was ignoring her own troubling symptoms.
But in a new interview with Yahoo! Style, the 26-year-old insists that her mental health struggle was very real, and anyone who suggests women should just 'suck it up' just doesn't understand it.
'It’s like, you have no idea what you’re talking about,' she said of people who question postpartum depression. 'If you think for one second that a mother wants to feel that way toward her child, you’re outta your mind. It is one of the most debilitating, scary, guilty feelings that you can ever feel.
Opening up: Hayden Panettiere talked about her struggle with postpartum depression in a new interview
Art imitating life: She acknowledged how strange it is that she suffered the illness at the same time that her on-screen character, Juliette Barnes, did
Something's not right: Hayden first admitted that she was having problems last September, before checking into a rehab facility in October
'That a mother would not be able to connect with their child, would not be able to get a grip, or would not know what’s going on, for anybody to say that it’s false or created by us, you must have your head examined,' she went on.
Hayden welcomed her fist daughter Kaya, 15 months, in December of 2014 with her Ukrainian boxer fiancé, Wladimir Klitschko, 39.
But a year later, in September of 2015, she surprised even herself when she revealed on Live with Kelly and Michael that she had something in common with her character, who spun out of control after giving birth to her first child.
'I can very much relate. It's something a lot of women experience,' the new mom divulged on air at the time. 'You don’t realize how broad of a spectrum you can really experience that on. It’s something that needs to be talked about. Women need to know that they’re not alone, and that it does heal.'
Family girl: The 26-year-old has one child with boxer fiancé, Wladimir Klitschko, 39
Her little girl: Their daughter, Kaya, is 15 months old, and Hayden sometimes offers peeks at family life on social media
Getting real: The star said she was nervous to be so open about her problems but has been 'floored' by the support she has received
Unfortunately, she had not yet fully healed — and in October, she sought treatment for postpartum depression, releasing a statement informing the world of her decision.
'I was always so terrified that people weren’t going to accept me,' she told Yahoo! Style of her decision to be open about her illness.
'I finally just went, I’m tired of living afraid. I’m tired of living in fear of what people are going to think, so, you know, I’m just going to put it all out there on the table and I’m not going to worry about the judgment.'
'It’s definitely interesting how much [the show] has mirrored my life
And happily, Hayden found that being honest didn't inspire much judgment, but instead waves of support from both her Hollywood colleagues and her fans.
'The more open I was, the more acceptance I got from people. I got so much support and so much love. I was floored,' she said. 'I feel much more exposed, yes, but in a great way.'
She hopes that exposing her own vulnerabilities will help other women come forward and ask for the help they need.
'I’m really happy that I can stand up for the women who are out there suffering from this and let them know it’s okay,' she told E! News in January. 'They’re not alone. It doesn’t mean they’re weak. It doesn’t mean they’re a bad mom. It doesn’t mean they’re strange. They can get help if they need it, and that’s okay.'
A voice: She hopes to give other women the strength to ask for help if they need it, too
Pulling from life: Getting back to work on Nashville, Hayden has pulled from her own private experiences
Brave: Since the first reveal, Hayden hasn't been shy about sharing details about her private struggles
The fact that she suffered from the illness at the same time as her character was a huge coincidence, but Hayden admitted to Yahoo: 'It’s definitely interesting how much it has mirrored my life.'
Unlike her character, though, Hayden did not, fortunately, abandon her family to go on the road, drink excessively, load up on prescription drugs, or precariously stand on the edge of building and accidentally allow a friend to be killed trying to save her.
But that doesn't mean that she wasn't able to use her own life as inspiration for her acting when she got back to work, filming episodes for the second part of the current season that will start airing next Wednesday.
'It was strange having to throw myself back into that frame of mind,' she said. 'The way I do things is to pull from my own personal experience and sometimes even turn myself into what I’m portraying so that I can pull from my life and step into that person’s shoes by being able to relate.'
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