Loose Women's Denise Welch admits 'I've not been well' as she opens up on 'rough' time

Loose Women's Denise Welch has detailed having a tough time over the past few weeks.

Addressing the topic, star Kaye Adams told viewers that Denise's 'unwelcome visitor,' which she calls her depression, has been knocking at the door.

Denise said: "Yeah, so I had a really rough two weeks, which I'm still in a bit. I just did a podcast and a big article saying how I've been free for five years of clinical depression.

"Sadly, the unwelcome visitor paid me another visit, so I've not been well for a couple of weeks."

She added: "I just wanted to come on here because what I need when I'm poorly, I need for my friends to just know that I need time to get well."

Denise told the panellists that what she needed during these times was the choice to go to work when she was emotionally ready, explaining her absence from the show last week.

The star continued: " When Janet returned it was up to Janet to say, 'I've had hip surgery I feel well enough to come back'. It's up to me to know when I'm well enough to come back.

"The only thing that people will relate to if they have depression is, I've been free of the morning fear for a long time. I can be ok today, but then tomorrow, I can be absolutely terrible, and it's isolating."

Giving more context, Denise shared that the describes depression as an ongoing sadness. She added: Sadness is something that you have as a result of something making you sad, it's a healthy emotion.

"Depression does exactly what it says on the tin, it depresses every single emotion. So you feel a flatness to things you usually get emotional or have feelings about, it robs you of that."

Before ending the conversation, Denise thanked her Loose Women co-stars for their support, and she confessed it helps her to go to work while she's working through this time.

As the audience gave her a huge round of applause for opening up, Janet Street-Porter stood up and gave Denise a huge hug.

Taken aback by Janet's kindness, Kaye Adams yelled in disbelief, "Oh my god!"

Joking aside, the ITV star added: "You know it's so amazing for you to share that side of yourself, Denise, I know a lot of people watching will be very, very grateful for that. We love every version of you."

It wasn't long before people took to social media to share their thoughts on Denise opening up.

One person said: "Love her, dislike her, mental health is s**t. Hope Denise gets through this quickly."

Someone else wrote: "How terribly brave of you Denise, you could have always stayed at home for a few months to get well."

Another wrote: "I hope @RealDeniseWelch is feeling better soon. It’s important mental health is spoken about, no one minds when we speak about our physical health. The taboo about mental health needs to go."

"@RealDeniseWelch @loosewomen well done for sharing with us and for describing depression so well. Thinking of you as you continue to recover," wrote another.

With another adding: "Thank you, Denise, for your powerful words today."

Loose Women continues weekdays on ITV from 12:30pm