Mischa Barton “doesn’t know” if she had a nervous breakdown.

The former ‘O.C.’ actress – who was placed under involuntary psychiatric hold at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Medical Center last month – has blamed the incident on an operation to remove wisdom teeth which went wrong.

She said: “I don’t know if it was an official breakdown. I don’t know. I had a friend who had a quasi–nervous breakdown, but I’m not sure it’s the same thing. I’m not sure I’m capable of a full-on nervous breakdown, but it was pretty bad.  It didn’t last that long.

It was more about the pain. I have a new-found respect for people who have chronic pain.

“I went through a terrible surgery – a wisdom tooth surgery, all four removed. It was a nightmare. I’ve never had surgery before – it all went wrong. So with the travel, and surgery and prep for the show – it was hell.”

The 23-year-old star also believes her hectic work schedule and the pressure of having to starting shooting her new TV show ‘The Beautiful Life’ – in which she plays a model – contributed to her hospitalization.

She added to Time Out New York magazine: “Before the show started, I was traveling abroad for contract stuff. I went through a tough spot where everything compounded on me, and it was like a perfect storm, like everything was happening to me at once. The show, travel and then this fairly routine surgery that went wrong – it’s still just healing. But I had to get through it without proper painkillers because I couldn’t take those during work. So it’s been a nightmare.”

Mischa says she was “down in the dumps” prior to entering hospital but insists she is now over the experience and feels totally in charge of her life again.

She also revealed it was her mother Nuala who put her in the hospital, but insists it is not that big a deal.

Mischa said: “The funny thing is, if all this happened in New York no one would care.”