Actor Hayden Panettiere is taking time out to continue her treatment for postnatal depression.

Having been open about previously visiting a rehab clinic following the arrival of daughter Kaya Evdokiain, born December 2014, Panettiere said on Twitter this week that the debilitating condition had “impacted every aspect of my life.”

She continued: “Rather than stay stuck due to unhealthy coping mechanisms, I have chosen to take time to reflect holistically on my health and life.”

It is unclear whether the 26-year-old has chosen to be treated at a clinic again, though some publications claim she has checked into a rehab facility in the US.

Panettiere, engaged to boxer Wladimir Klitschko, first revealed she'd had post-partum depression in September 2015 and sought professional treatment the following October. She said at the time, “I was like, ‘Why should I be ashamed or hide when it costs so much?’ It costs me so much to hide. It costs you so much to lie.”

In March this year, she discussed the misconceptions some have about the condition, saying: “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.”

And in another interview, she described the experience as “like being in a tunnel”.

“You can’t even remember when you felt good,” she told People magazine. “You try and think back to when you felt good, when you felt positive, when you felt happy, and you can’t. All you see is this enveloping darkness.”

The star, whose show Nashville was coincidentally revealed to have been cancelled on the same day as her Twitter message, hopes to use her personal struggles to encourage other mums to seek help, and other big names have been similarly open of late, with Drew Barrymore saying in October last year, “I really got under the cloud”.

If you or someone you know would like advice on postnatal depression, visit the NHS website here or Mind's website here

Images: Rex Features