Alyssa Milano is opening up about one of the most challenging experiences of her life. The actress, known for her work in the series “Charmed,” has openly discussed her experiences dealing with postpartum mental illness. She’s shared a new essay on her Substack as the Lindsay Clancy trial ramps up and reaches a wider audience.
Milano wrote in her Substack that the Clancy trial is forcing “a new national reckoning with postpartum mental illness and with what can happen when women ask for help but still fall through the cracks.” She made it clear that her experience with postpartum was different than Clancy’s.
“Postpartum anxiety and postpartum psychosis are different conditions, and my experience is not Lindsay Clancy’s. But the trial has brought renewed attention to a truth that connects them: maternal mental-health symptoms must be recognized, believed and treated with urgency.”
Milano’s essay was originally published in TIME magazine in 2018. In it, she opens up about her experience with postpartum depression, which began when she got pregnant with her first son in 2011. The pregnancy came after a miscarriage and led her to experience anxiety attacks shortly after her son’s birth.
© Bruce Glikas/WireImageMilano’s essay depicts her struggles with postpartum mental illness
“My heart raced. My stomach seized up. I felt like I was dying,” reads her essay. Milano also felt alone, with her believing that her pain was not being taken seriously by other people in her life.
The experience culminated with her going into the emergency room at 2 in the morning, asking to be committed, and finally receiving the help she needed. “I was lucky enough to have the means and the insurance to get the help and support I needed,” she wrote.
“What happens to those mothers who don’t have the kind of support I received?”
© FilmMagicMilano was ultimately diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, a condition that was likely triggered by her postpartum depression.
Lindsay Clancy’s trial is currently underway, with her pleading not guilty to the first-degree murder she was charged with. Her lawyers are advocating that she was not criminally responsible for the death of her kids due to severe postpartum psychosis.
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