William calls for more male mental health role models
The Prince of Wales has said more “male role models” are needed to talk about men’s mental health and normalize understanding.
Prince William appeared on an episode of BBC Radio 1’s Life Hacks and told a panel discussion about mental health and suicide prevention how he spent a “long time” understanding his feelings.
“We need more male role models talking about this issue and normalizing it so it becomes second nature to all of us,” the prince said.
“No single person in this world has all the tools to address every possibility or mental state to be encountered.
“I like to look for new tools that I can put in my toolbox when I need them, and if we look at it that way, it normalizes the idea that sometimes the brain just needs a little help.
“It’s okay to ask for support, to ask a friend, to reach out.”
During the hour-long episode, she talked about her own mental health and the importance of learning to love who you are, as well as taking time to understand how you’re feeling.
“It takes a long time to try to understand my feelings and why I feel the way I do,” she said.
“And I think that’s a really important process to go through every now and then to check in with yourself and figure out why you’re feeling that way. Sometimes there’s an obvious explanation, sometimes there isn’t.”
“If we talk about it more and educate people more, I hope the idea of suicide becomes more and more removed because you know that you could actually wake up tomorrow and feel very different.”
William also recalled a time when he noticed his mental health was “deteriorating” after working as a pilot for the air ambulance service between March 2015 and July 2017, and the importance of “preparing” how you were feeling.
She said: “If you listen to your body and have time to process your thoughts and emotions, it will present itself to you.
“It’s really important to have moments where you evaluate.
“It wasn’t until I took a longer break and walked away that I looked at myself and said, ‘God, I’m carrying everyone’s emotional burden.’
“It was really weighing me down.”
The Prince of Wales went on to explain how the nature of emergency service work can harm people because of how emotionally and physically demanding the work can be.
He said: “Until you step away from it, until you retire or take a break (and most don’t take a long enough break), you can process what kind of harrowing, mental, emotional experiences you’re going through each time.”
The prince said he was “quite emotionally available” but that sometimes came at a cost.
“It helps me put my own life into perspective, but at the same time, sometimes I carry their burden with me and that’s where I struggle a lot, I feel other people’s pain and it overwhelms me sometimes,” she said.
“You want to fix it, but some things you can’t necessarily fix, and emotionally I find that very challenging.”
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