Hayden Panettiere has strong words for PPD disbelievers

by

Sara McGinnis

posted in Celebrities

Hayden Panettiere is in the unique position of not just having gone through postpartum depression as a first-time mom, she also plays someone suffering through it on TV.

The 26-year-old actress, who is mom to 15-month-old daughter Kaya Evdokia, has opened up about what spurred her to go public with her PPD experience and more.

"I was always so terrified that people weren’t going to accept me," the Nashville star recently told Yahoo! Style, referring to her state of mind before going public. "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.'"

We're pleased to say Hayden was "floored" by the outpouring of support she received. She explained, "The more open I was, the more acceptance I got from people. I got so much support and so much love."

I can't explain how happy it makes me to hear Hayden Panettiere was supported, as over the past few years I've seen women near and far work to raise awareness of and acceptance of talking openly about PPD. Unfortunately though, there are some out there who still don't think of it as real.

To those people this new mom says:

"It’s like you have no idea what you’re talking about. 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.

"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."

So what's it like to deal with PPD personally and at work?

"It was strange having to throw myself back into that frame of mind," Hayden explained when asked about returning to her role after seeking treatment for PPD in real life. "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."

Personally, I'm amazed by Hayden's ability to take on acting out troubles that mirror her real life for the camera. I wonder a bit if working through it via another avenue is helpful, or could it possibly be hurtful? At any rate, I hope she has a strong network of support set in place now, just in case even fictitiously returning to that dark place triggers any further issues.

Be sure to check out the true faces of PPD photography project by clicking here.

For those of you who've been through PPD, how do you imagine you'd feel playing a character having it? Have you had firsthand experience with those who doubt it's real?

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Photo: PR Photos