Goldie Hawn says she was 'very depressed' and 'couldn't even go outside in public' when she first became famous in her 20s

• On "GMB," Hawn talked about how she struggled to appear in public due to depression when she was 21.
• "I didn't want to be a big deal," she said. "I wanted to go home. I wanted to marry a dentist."
• She is now helping kids who feel depressed with her school program, MindUp.

Goldie Hawn has been super famous practically her entire adult life, but the Oscar-winner admits that back in her 20s, depression made it hard for her to enjoy it.

"When I was young, I became depressed," the 75-year-old actress told "Good Morning Britain" recently. "I was 21 and I [was] rising to success. I know it sounds terrible, but it's a very, very difficult thing. I didn't necessarily want that."

"I was very depressed and I had a lot of these issues where I couldn't even go outside in public," Hawn continued.

To say that Hawn was famous during the 1960s, when she was in her early 20s, would be an understatement. She found international acclaim when her go-go dancer act landed her a regular-cast gig on the popular sketch comedy show "Rowan & Martin's Laugh In." Her giggly persona led to her becoming the "it girl" of the 1960s. And her fame and legitimacy in Hollywood grew when she won a best supporting actress Oscar for 1969's "Cactus Flower."

But looking back on it, Hawn now says she was overwhelmed by fame.

"I didn't want to be a big deal," she said. "I wanted to go home. I wanted to marry a dentist, I wanted to be a dancing school teacher. I did have a plan [and] I didn't have delusions of grandeur on any level; I was extremely realistic."

Hawn said going to doctors and psychologists to learn about the brain and how to quiet her mind helped her and now believes that happiness is a "choice."

"Happiness is an interesting thing, because it's a state of mind," she explained. "Happiness is something that we actually look at, we churn it like you churn butter and create butter and cream out of milk. You literally have to understand that happiness is a choice."

Hawn has since taken the knowledge she's discovered put it towards MindUp, a school program started in 2003 which aims to help kids control their stress and depression. This is done through exercises like focused breathing, sensory awareness, role playing, and positive thinking.

"Don't be embarrassed, mental health is real," she added. "If I broke my arm, I would go to a doctor. If I fell and hurt my hip, I would go to a doctor. Our brains are an organ. There are things that we can [do to] help ourselves and doctors can help us. We should never be ashamed to say 'I'm feeling sad.'"