11 Celebrities Open up About Their Battles With Postpartum Depression

Even non-moms know that having a baby isn’t all roses and sunshine (see: contractions and episiotomies). Still, there’s that lingering illusion that once you bring that little bundle of joy home, life is rosy.

But as many as 15 percent of new moms suffer from postpartum depression (PPD), according to the Office on Women’s Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The condition causes symptoms including fatigue, sadness, and feelings of self-harm, and can strike any time within the first year after giving birth.

Even celebrities aren’t immune—including these 11 brave women who have publicly opened up about their own experiences with PPD.

1. Adele: Singer Adele recently opened up to Vanity Fair, saying, “I had really bad postpartum depression after I had my son, and it frightened me.” Feelings of inadequacy plagued her after the birth of her son, Angelo, now 4. “My knowledge of postpartum…is that you don’t want to be with your child; you’re worried you might hurt your child; you’re worried you weren’t doing a good job. But I was obsessed with my child. I felt very inadequate, I felt like I’d made the worst decision of my life,” she told the magazine. Eventually, opening up to friends about the way she felt and making more time for herself helped her learn to cope.

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2. Hayden Panettiere: In October 2014, nearly a year after the birth of her daughter Kaya, the Nashville start revealed to Us Weekly that she was seeking treatment for PPD. She later described the perception of the condition vs. reality during an appearance on Live! With Kelly and Michael. “When [you’re told] about postpartum depression you think it’s ‘I feel negative feelings towards my child, I want to injure or hurt my child,’” she said. “I’ve never, ever had those feelings. Some women do. But you don’t realize how broad of a spectrum you can really experience that on. There’s a lot of misunderstanding.”

3. Courteney Cox: In 2005, Courteney told USA Today she suffered a bout of PPD that started six months after welcoming daughter Coco. “I couldn’t sleep,” said the then 41-year-old. “My heart was racing. And I got really depressed. I went to the doctor and found out my hormones had been pummeled.” A hormone replacement regime (and the support of her pals, like Friends costar Jennifer Anniston) helped her through the rocky time.

4. Gwyneth Paltrow: Speaking of goop, Gwyneth revealed she shared Bryce’s condition after the arrival of her second child, son Moses, in 2006. “I expected to have another period of euphoria following his birth, much the way I had when my daughter was born two years earlier,” she wrote on her site. “Instead, I was confronted with one of the darkest and most painfully debilitating chapters of my life. For about five months, I had what I can see in hindsight as postnatal depression.”

5. Drew Barrymore: Like Gwyneth, Drew suffered PPD after the birth of her second child, daughter Frankie. She told People, “I didn’t have postpartum the first time so I didn’t understand it because I was like, ‘I feel great!’ The second time, I was like, ‘Oh, whoa, I see what people talk about now. I understand.’ It’s a different type of overwhelming with the second. I really got under the cloud.”

To see the rest of celebrities who have opened up about depression, click here for the original Women’s Health article.

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