The actress is currently on a break from the BBC show and viewers recently saw Carol's exit scenes as she moved to Suffolk temporarily with her grandchildren.
© BBC
© BBC
Coulson revealed the reasons behind her EastEnders absence as she made a live television appearance on Loose Women today (May 15).
She commented: "I just needed to not have [Carol] in my head for a little while. When I signed last year, I just said, 'Would it be okay if I could have a little time out?' And they kindly said yes."
Coulson continued: "You've constantly got somebody else's life in your head at all times. You do the 12-hour day and then you come home and you have to learn again for the next day. You're doing 15, 16 scenes a day."
The actress has been working on charity fundraising projects since filming her recent exit scenes, as well as spending time with her family.
She added: "[EastEnders is] a perfect job - for me it's 25 minutes up the road with lovely people. I really like working there. I'm going back in August, actually."
