Hayden Panettiere – who has a two-year-old daughter with fiancé Wladimir Klitschko – says it took a while to acknowledge her depression, but the ordeal has only made her stronger and she is now in a much better place.

Now the actress considers herself a much better mom as she is much more aware of the condition.

She shared with Good Morning America: “It takes you a while and you feel off. You don’t feel like yourself.

Women are so resilient, and that’s the incredible thing about them. I think I’m all the stronger for it. I think I’m a better mom because of it because you never take that connection for granted.”

And her Nashville character, Juliette Barnes, coincidentally had suffered from postpartum depression as well. The blonde beauty credits said role in helping her identify the problem.

She explained: “I think it helped me identify what was going on. And to let women know that it’s OK to ask for help and it’s OK to have a moment of weakness. It doesn’t make you a bad person, doesn’t make you a bad mother. It makes you a very strong, resilient woman. You’ve just got to let it make you stronger.”

The actress also thanks the drama series for helping her feel strong, calling her TV character a “phoenix” that crashes and then rises from the ashes.

“I’m feeling great. I’m so glad to be back playing Juliette. Everything she’s been through has been like a hazard sign in the road. She made me stronger. I feel like she’s a phoenix. She crashes and burns and then she rises from the ashes and she always takes the lesson and becomes stronger for it,” she explained.