Actress and politician Angelu De Leon (Facebook)

Actress-turned-politician Angelu De Leon appeared to be handling her battle with Bell’s palsy well when she first opened up about the condition.

But behind that composure, she was dealing with something else.

Angelu recently revealed that she went through depression after being diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a condition that causes sudden weakness in the muscles on one side of the face.

“Sa totoo lang, nagkaroon din ako ng depression dahil sa Bell’s palsy. Bilang artista, ‘mukha ang puhunan mo.’ Kaya hindi madaling tanggapin kapag biglang nagbago ang mukha mo,” Angelu wrote in a Facebook post.

Angelu first experienced Bell’s palsy in 2009 and had a relapse in 2016.

The condition was particularly difficult for her as an actress, where her appearance has always been part of her work.

Still, she continued working and found herself grateful for the opportunities that came her way. Among them was being featured on an EDSA billboard for the series “Pulang Araw.”

“Pero sa kabila ng lahat, pinagpala pa rin ako ng Diyos—nagkaroon pa ako ng billboard sa EDSA at naging bahagi ng ‘Pulang Araw,’” she wrote.

Her experience also changed the way she looked at beauty and self-worth, especially as she moved further into public service.

“Natutunan ko na hindi doon nasusukat ang halaga ko. Maaaring ang mukha ang puhunan sa showbiz, pero ang buhay, pagkatao, at halaga natin ay higit pa sa ating panlabas na anyo. Health is wealth,” she said.

Angelu ended her post by reminding people not to take their health for granted.

“Health is wealth. Huwag nating balewalain ang ating kalusugan. Huwag nating hintaying may mangyari bago natin alagaan ang ating sarili,” she said.