Gwyneth Paltrow's depression shell

Apr 28, 2008, 10:40 GMT

04/24/2008 - Gwyneth Paltrow - "Iron Man" London Premiere - Arrivals - Odeon Leicester Square - London, England © Solarpix / PR Photos

Gwyneth Paltrow felt like a "shell of herself" when she was suffering from post-partum depression.

The 'Iron Man' star had no idea what was wrong with her when she was suffering from the condition following the birth of two-year-old Moses, her second child with Coldplay star husband Chris Martin.

She said: "It was a very difficult time. I just did not know what was wrong with me. I felt very detached, I felt like I was a shell of myself. I just felt like I was going through the motions of the things in my life.

"It was a very weird three to six months. I didn't know what was wrong with me until I started to come out of it, and my mom said to me, 'You don't seem right. What's going on?' And I was defensive because I didn't know what was wrong with me."

Gwyneth - who also has a three-year-old daughter Apple with Chris - can empathise with any other woman who has had to deal with depression.

She added to US TV 'Entertainment Tonight': "By the time I realised I needed medication I was already coming out of it. I really feel for any woman who's had it or going through it, because it's not easy."

Postpartum depression is caused by an imbalance of hormones in the body after a woman gives birth. Researchers have found that depression is one of the most common complications both during and after pregnancy.

(C) BANG Media International