Posted by Adam

Thursday August 27, 2009

Mischa Barton has revealed why she was placed under psychiatric hold in July — she was going through a “tough spot” and she didn’t know how to deal with it.

“I went through a tough spot where everything compounded on me, and it was like a perfect storm, like everything was happening to me at once,” the 23-year-old tells Time Out New York.

The former O.C. star says before she was scheduled to start filming the CW show The Beautiful Life, “I was traveling abroad for contract stuff and I went through a terrible surgery — a wisdom tooth surgery, all four removed. It was a nightmare.

“I’ve never had surgery before — it all went wrong and I had to have a second surgery and it almost delayed shooting because it was a nightmare to me, because I couldn’t deal with the thought of not getting there on time. So with the travel, and surgery and prep for the show — it was hell.”

“I was down in the dumps about everything there for a while,” Barton added. “Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom about things and have to get the most stressed out just to feel better again. I got completely stressed out and couldn’t handle everything, and now I feel really in control.”

The actress denies it was a mental breakdown, but admits the ordeal “was pretty bad.”

“The funny thing is, if all this happened in New York, no one would care,” she says. “New York lets you be who you are, and people aren’t as judgmental. I’m so glad to be back here.”

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