Wil Wheaton is best known to audiences for his turns on 'Star Trek: The Next Generation', 'The Big Bang Theory', and voice roles in the likes of 'Ben 10' and 'Teen Titans'.

As well as this, Wheaton's been more than open about his own struggles with depression, generalised anxiety disorder and how it's affected throughout most of his life - even though, as he stated in a lengthy Medium post on the subject, "I live life on the lowest difficulty setting — with the Celebrity cheat enabled."

Throughout the post, Wheaton passionately talked about what it's like living with chronic depression and the effects it has on his family life, his career and how he began having panic attacks right around the time he was starring in the likes of 'Stand By Me' and 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'.

"Back then, we didn’t know that’s what they were, and because they usually happened when I was asleep, the adults in my life just thought I had nightmares. Well, I did have nightmares, but they were so much worse than just bad dreams," explained Wheaton.

"All the weird, anxious feelings I had all the time? I’d been raised to believe that they were shameful. That they reflected poorly on my parents and my family. That they should be crammed down deep inside me, shared with nobody, and kept secret."

The post also delves into what it was like to be famous at such a young age, the pressures that brought on and how it exacerbated his condition, not to mention the fact that it also bled into how directors and producers perceived him as being difficult. "When I couldn’t remember my lines, because I was so anxious about things I can’t even remember now, directors would accuse me of being unprofessional and unprepared. And that’s when my anxiety turned into depression," he explained.

It wasn't until Wheaton was 34 that he sought help for his condition, and he's now since become a vocal advocate for mental health awareness and how it can have an impact on children.

You can read the full post here, and if you're having issues with mental health, speak to a health professional or contact the Samaritans on 116 123.