By Corey Atad.3 Feb 2021 2:52 PM

Katherine Heigl has a few regrets.

In a new interview withPeople, the Firefly Lane star addresses her contentious exit from Greys Anatomy in 2010.

I dont think you get through life without any regrets, Heigl tells the magazine, but you can create some purpose from it.

RELATED: Katherine Heigl On Having To Seek Help For Her Anxiety After Unwarranted Criticism

The actresss departure from the show had come after she withdrew her name from contention for an Emmy on the grounds that she did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant a nomination.

Looking back, Heigl admits, I know theres a better way to deal with those things than I did. I could have handled it with more grace.

That said, the 42-year-old reiterates, I dont actually regret leaving Greys Anatomy I did the right thing for me and for my family but I do regret the heightened drama I was feeling at that time. If Id 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.

RELATED: Katherine Heigl And Sarah Chalke Are Best Friends Forever In New Firefly Lane Trailer

In retrospect, Heigl recognizes that there were better ways to approach her situation on the show.

I certainly regret not learning earlier how to manage my anxiety better, she explains. 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.

The last five years has been really about learning how to manage that anxiety and to control my own thoughts, she says. I learned that not managing stress leads to not dealing with negativity or frustration or disappointment in the proper way.

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. There will be difficulties and disappointment and miscommunications but you must learn how to manage those with grace instead of fear.

More:
Katherine Heigl Says She Could Have Handled Greys Anatomy Exit With More Grace - ETCanada.com