Reese Witherspoon shares honest experience with postpartum depression

Reese Witherspoon reflected on her postpartum experience as a young mother after giving birth to her daughter Ava Phillippe.

During her chat with Harper's Bazaar on November 2, the 49-year-old star made a bold admission about her battle with depression, saying, "It was really bad."

"In the first six months, I was simultaneously happy and depressed. I just cried all the time, I was up all night, I was exhausted," she shared. "It was a hormone drop I didn’t expect, which I experienced right after birth and again when I stopped nursing six months later."

The Big Little Lies actress admitted it was quite overwhelming for her as a young mother, with people constantly sharing their opinions, giving unsolicited advice, and telling her how to do everything, from giving birth, nurse, feed, even how to feel.

"It’s hard being a young mom and having people tell you how to be, how to react, how to give birth, how to nurse and how to feed your baby. It’s inundating," she expressed.

Now, Reese is a mother to 26-year-old Ava, 21-year-old Deacon, whom she shares with her ex-husband Ryan Phillippe, and 13-year-old Tennessee with her ex husband Jim Toth.

The Legally Blonde star recalled how truly challenging it was to navigate motherhood in her early 20s, until a friend was finally able to convinced her to seek professional help.

"I had the connections and the means to get to a doctor, a mental-health specialist, but a lot of people don’t. They struggle on their own and hide it," she said.