In a new interview with People, the actor opened up more about her decision to leave Grey's, which she did mid-season in 2010.
"I know there's a better way to deal with those things than I did," she said. "I could have handled it with more grace."
While Heigl maintained that leaving Grey's was "the right thing for me and for my family," she also expressed regret for "the heightened drama I was feeling at that time."
"If I'd known anything about meditation then, or had been talking to a therapist or someone to help me through some of the fear that I was steeped in, I think I would have been more calm in how I approached what boundaries I needed to create to thrive."
"I certainly regret not learning earlier how to manage my anxiety better," she continued. "Living at that heightened level of anxiety...created a defensiveness in me and wariness and assuming that people were against me. I let my mind run rampant without the tools to properly manage that."
Heigl also said that, over the last five years, she's been focused on "learning how to manage [her] anxiety and to control [her] own thoughts." "Not managing stress leads to not dealing with negativity or frustration or disappointment in the proper way," she added.
"Something else that experience taught me is that no matter how big an opportunity or how rewarding something is, there will be moments of struggle," she said.
"There will be difficulties and disappointment and miscommunications, but you must learn how to manage those with grace instead of fear."
Firefly Lane just hit Netflix today, if you're looking for your next potential TV binge.
