Hayden Panettiere says she put herself in rehab in 2015 for addiction: 'I was drowning'

Hayden Panettiere is being candid about her mental health and struggles with addiction in the hopes of letting fans know they are not alone.

Panettiere, 33, opened up in an April cover for Women's Health. The interview was conducted in January, prior to the sudden death of her younger brother Jansen Panettiere last month at age 28.

"Some people work out. I wish that was my coping mechanism. Alcohol might make you feel better in that moment, but it makes you feel so much worse the next day, and then you do it all over again," she told the outlet.

Panettiere had her first stint in rehab while filming the fourth season of "Nashville" in 2015. "I was the one who put myself in the first treatment center," she said. “I was drowning."

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Doctors advised her to change her habits, but that wasn't realistic given her job and going through postpartum depression after her daughter Kaya Evdokia Klitschko was born in 2014.

"I should have gone on antidepressants (to cope with the postpartum depression), but you have to find the right one that works for you. They don’t mix well with alcohol, and I wasn’t ready to stop drinking," Panettiere said.

Her storyline for "Nashville" was also a little too close to home. "They wrote my character as having postpartum depression. They wrote that she abandoned her child and went to a different country," the actress recalled. "And it was very difficult to go on-set and to act out these feelings about these things that I was truly going through in my real life."

Panettiere gave full custody of her daughter to ex Wladimir Klitschko in 2018 as her depression and alcohol addiction worsened.

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"I struggled with sleep deprivation. Sleep is massive. It affects your motor skills, your ability to think, and your overall health. My body was like, ‘enough.’ I hit 30. My face was swollen. I had jaundice. My eyes were yellow. I had to go to a liver specialist. I was holding on to weight that wasn’t normally there. My hair was thin and coming out in clumps," the "Scream VI" star told Women's Health.

In 2021, Panettiere entered a 12-step program and began trauma therapy. "I did a lot of work on myself. After eight months of intensive therapy, I felt like I had this blank canvas to work with," she said.

In a video for the outlet, she reminded fans, "You're not alone."

"It’s been a battle, it’s an everyday battle, and one that today I am happy to say I am winning," Panettiere said. "And I hope you are too.”

The actress has been on a press tour for the promotion of "Scream VI." Appearing on "Good Morning America" Monday, she briefly addressed the loss of her brother. "He's right here with me," she said.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hayden Panettiere talks rehab, trauma for Women's Health cover