Actor Eric Dane has opened up about his struggles with depression the Today Show this week.

 

The 44-year old, best known for his role on Grey's Anatomy, spoke about taking a break from his show The Last Ship to focus on his mental health.

 

“I took some time off, I was dealing with some depression, which was kind of odd to me,” he explained.

 

“I felt very conflicted about it because I didn’t really feel like I had anything to be depressed about.”

 

 

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“Now, I take a medication called Pristiq, which I thought just sounded like a good mood,” he added. “And the depression is gone.”

 

Eric came onto the show earlier today to spread awareness of mental illness, and to highlight the importance of looking after your mental health and not letting your problems bottle up.

 

“You’ve got to listen to your body,” he said. “It’s a very serious thing. Like I said, I felt very conflicted because I couldn’t figure out what I was depressed about. But it’s very real.”

 

Six years ago, the father-of-two went to rehab to treat his addiction to painkillers. He admits that his depression was at its peak during this time.

 

“That was a scary thing when you wake up and you’re like, ‘I don’t want to get out of bed’,” he said.

 

 

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“I was seeing these doctors thinking that there was something physically wrong with me because I’d never felt like that.”

 

“I mean, I’d dealt with depression throughout my life, but it was always manageable,” he said. “I just felt like, you know, everybody kind of feels a little blue. But this just hit me like a truck. I had to take some time off — I went away, I took care of it, and I’m feeling great.”

 

Eric will be making a return to The Last Ship once he feels he’s better and mentally capable of going back to work.

 

 

"Eric asked for a break to deal with personal issues," a representitive for the actor previously told Today. "He suffers from depression, and has asked for a few weeks of downtime, and the producers kindly granted that request."

 

Eric is married to fellow actor Rebecca Gayheart, and has two daughters.

 

Earlier this year, the World Health Organisation announced that more than 300 million people suffer from depression, and that it's the leading cause of disability worldwide.

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