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When Lena Headey began filming the first season of Game of Thrones in 2010, she was in a dark place.
The mum-of-two had just welcomed her first child, Wylie Loughran, and was unaware that she had postpartum depressed.
Lena's GOT co-star Maisie Williams (otherwise known as Arya Stark) recently interviewed the 44-year-old in Net-A-Porter all about her experience on the series, including this quite difficult part of it.
The English actress best known as Cersei Lannister said that it was 'really horrendous' filming some scenes during that first season.
"I was postnatally depressed but I didn’t know it. I saw a doctor for the medical check, and I just burst into tears. She said I was postnatally depressed and I went, 'Am I? Why is that?'" she recalled.
"I saw a great guy and he sorted me out, but I did the first year [on Game of Thrones] in that space, figuring out motherhood and going through a weird time personally. It was tricky."
Lena also spoke about her struggle with postpartum depression on the latest episode of Running Wild With Bear Grylls, and revealed why she finds the subject so important to discuss.
"It's like there are certain things that are cool to talk about and there are certain things that nobody really wants to talk about," the mum said.
"I just feel, if you don't share and you don't connect, then you're just causing more isolation and that's a really bad thing for all of us."
Lena added, "I think I've learned as I've got older just to sit with it a bit more, like anything that's uncomfortable."
This isn't the first time the actress has opened up about her mental health issues. Back in a 2014 interview in The Telegraph, she said she had dealt with depression ever since she was in her teens, but managed to do so sans medication.
However, that changed when she had Wylie and had to reckon with postpartum depression.
"I went a bit nuts and eventually went to a guy who mixes Western and Eastern philosophy in terms of medicine and he put me on a course of something that changed everything," the mum explained.
We appreciate her bravery and honesty. Her story may give some hope to other women also dealing with postpartum depression.
