“I feel like a different person walking on this red carpet,” Panettiere told “Access Hollywood” at the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday, January 17, 2016. “I always felt a little socially awkward – I mean, I’m still socially awkward but I feel like I don’t have to hide myself as much anymore. And I can be true, and people will accept your scars and your bumps and your bruises and will relate to them, and I didn’t really know that until everything happened over this past year or so.”
Panettiere gave birth to daughter, Kaya, in December 2014. While she was dealing with her own personal struggles with postpartum depression, her “Nashville” character, Juliette Barnes, was going through the same thing — which Panettiere says she found to be very difficult.
“It’s wild what the mind does,” she shared. “It kind of like puts up a block and you can’t associate, and I was having a lot of trouble associating. So the more on-the-head it was, the more hitting the nail on the head, it was, the closer to me it was and the closer to the truth I, the more my – I just couldn’t. I was suppressing, I backed away, I had to think of something else.”
The actress added that she is feeling great, and very empowered, post-treatment. We’re super happy to hear it, Hayden!
More on Postpartum Depression:
- My Postpartum Depression Was So Severe I Didn’t Recognize Myself
- Why We Need to Keep Talking About Postpartum Depression
- Could THIS Reduce Your Risk of Postpartum Depression?
Photo: Getty
