Los Angeles, Jul 10 (IANS): Actress Sharon Stone has revealed that she lost a lot of money that she had saved in her bank account following her stroke in 2001.

The 'Basic Instinct' star talked about how the stroke, which led to a nine-day brain bleed, made her step away from Hollywood.

“A Buddhist monk told me that I had been reincarnated into my same body,” Stone recalled in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

The actress said that she “had a death experience, and then they brought me back.”

“I bled into my brain for nine days, so my brain was shoved to the front of my face. It wasn’t positioned in my head where it was before.”

She added: “And while that was happening, everything changed. My sense of smell, my sight, and my touch. I couldn’t read for a couple of years. Things were stretched, and I was seeing colour patterns. A lot of people thought I was going to die.”

Stone said that this also led to people taking "advantage" of her "over that time", and she lost millions of dollars she had saved in her account, along with other personal items.

“I had $18 million saved because of all my success, but when I got back into my bank account, it was all gone. My refrigerator, my phone -- everything was in other people’s names,” Stone shared.

“I had zero money," she said.

Instead of feeling "bitter" about all the negative things she experienced, Stone said she chooses to focus on the positive, reports people.com.

“I decided to stay present and let go,” she said.

“I decided not to hang on to being sick or to any bitterness or anger. If you bite into the seed of bitterness, it never leaves you. But if you hold faith, even if that faith is the size of a mustard seed, you will survive.”

“So, I live for joy now. I live for a purpose.”