11 celebrity mums who’ve opened up about their postnatal depression

‘It [exercise] was part of healing my postnatal depression. I thought I really need to exercise… I needed to sweat… I was like, “I need to get this out of my body”.’

‘I didn’t understand why I wasn’t like all the other mums, in love with my new baby. While everyone else was bonding with their child, I wanted to walk out the door and never come back. I felt so ashamed. I felt so bad that I didn’t want to wake up in the mornings. I wanted to roll over and die. It’s such a deep low.’

‘It was a really intense time and if I could share anything with anyone going through it, it’d be to encourage them to seek help and reach out earlier than I did.’Source: ABC News

‘I was so emotional and erratic, and I remember saying: 'Mum, I wish I was dead.’ I get quite emotional thinking back to that time. I remember I had that sick feeling in my stomach and my mum said: ‘Right, that’s not normal saying stuff like that,’ so she rushed me to the doctor. When they told me I had postnatal depression, it was the biggest relief to know I wasn’t going insane.’

‘My doctor put me on medication and after about four weeks it was as if a switch had been flicked and I was coming back to myself. Of course, I couldn’t come off the medication straight away just because I was feeling better, I had to do it properly. But I realised I had kept quiet for far too long.’

‘It was like an awful knot in my stomach and I felt overwhelmed and even that people wanted to take my baby away from me. I got help and managed to get through it. I don't feel ashamed about talking about it and neither should anyone else.'

‘[On checking into an institute for her PND] I took the steps I needed to take in order to recover. The truth was, I just did what I needed to do and addressed a lot of issues that needed addressing.’

‘I’d never even heard of postnatal depression. After being diagnosed by my GP, I was scared to talk to anyone or get any help. I want people to speak up about it and be honest about it but even I’m nervous.’

‘If you only look at adverts on TV, we're programmed to think that this is the most special time in you life and you're going to have this instant bond and this instant connection. And for some mums it just doesn't happen, and then they feel that they're a failure.’

‘I went through a really hard time — not right after the baby, but when (Coco) turned 6 months. I couldn't sleep. My heart was racing. And I got really depressed. I went to the doctor and found out my hormones had been pummelled.’

‘It has nothing to do with your love for [your children]. … It is something that is in your body, the loss of oestrogen, the amount of hormones. … Pay attention to the feelings that you're feeling and talk about it and ask your doctor. … Find out what medicine's available. You don't have to be miserable.’