Hayden Panettiere 'Happy' to Stand Up for Women With Postpartum Depression

— -- Actress Hayden Panettiere is opening up again about her struggles with postpartum depression.

Speaking to E! News Sunday on the red carpet at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, the 26-year-old talked about what she has been going through in the past year.

“Postpartum depression was not something that I ever understood. You could never understand it unless you have a personal involvement in it,” she said.

Talking about it has been good for her and has helped her to heal, the “Nashville” star said.

“You know what, it’s made my life better. I do feel and hope that it's made other people's lives better,” she said. "I was floored by the positive response and really happy that I can stand up for the women out there who are suffering from this and let them know that it’s OK."

Panettiere and her fiance, Wladimir Klitschko, welcomed daughter Kaya in December 2014. She checked herself into a facility in October to help treat her postpartum depression.

In a case of life imitating art, her character on “Nashville” also suffers from the same condition.

Patrick Gomez of People magazine talked about the actress.

“A source at the show has told us that that storyline was developed long before Hayden gave birth,” he told ABC News. “The show did give her time, though, to go through the treatment off-camera as her character on-camera went through the similar situation.”

Panettiere hopes to break the stigma of the disease by talking openly about it, Gomez said.

“She believes that she’s going to be a more positive role model for her daughter, showing her that she can be a proud confident woman while admitting what’s going on inside,” Gomez said.

Panettiere told E! that she wanted to set a good example for her daughter and “tell her that she can be anyone she wants and does not have to be afraid that somebody’s not going to like it because no matter what you do, there’s always going to be somebody who doesn’t like it.”