How Prince William Spoke Out About 'Consequences’ Of Hesitating To Address Mental Health

Although Prince Harry has publicly shared his mental health struggles following Princess Diana’s death, Prince William wasn’t as forthcoming about his battles on the topic.

However, in the last few years, the Duke of Cambridge has opened up about his struggles, and the importance of addressing them before one becomes overwhelmed.

Last year, Prince William became the face of a men’s mental health campaign. The royal partnered with Heads Together and the Football Association to create the “Heads Up” campaign. The goal of the campaign was to raise awareness, and start a conversation about mental health.

“The consequences of this silence — confusion, stigma, and even shame — have reached a crisis point in the UK. At its worst, it has led to appalling rates of suicide in this country — the leading cause of death for men under 45,” he said in a speech to delegates during the campaign launch.

“Every day, failing to tackle mental health means that we are not reaching our potential at work. When you struggle in silence, you cannot give it your all.”

The 37-year-old went on to reflect on how males have the habit of ignoring a friend’s emotional struggles. “We wouldn’t think twice to ask a mate how he was doing after he broke an arm or an ankle. We wouldn’t hesitate to talk about our routine at the gym, or even our need to make it a bit more regular,” he explained.

“But when it comes to our mental health, we — and, by we, I mean men in particular — often have nothing to say at all. When we see a friend that looks down, too many of us don’t know how to ask if he’s okay.”

Prince William went on to claim that men feel the need to hide their mental health struggles and don’t know how to address them. “When we ourselves feel down, we are often ashamed to say we need help. And when we know we need help, we don’t know where to start,” he said.

In 2017, Prince Harry opened up to The Telegraph about how he paid the price for shutting down his emotions after Princess Diana’s death.

“I have probably been very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions when all sorts of grief and sort of lies and misconceptions and everything are coming to you from every angle,” he said.

Prince Harry admitted that he thought ignoring his grief was the best solution. “My way of dealing with it was sticking my head in the sand, refusing to ever think about my mum, because why would that help? It’s only going to make you sad, it’s not going to bring her back,” Harry stated.

“So I was a typical 20-, 25-, 28-year-old running around going ‘life is great’, or ‘life is fine’ and that was exactly it."

However, following some encouragement from Prince William, Harry did seek help to deal with his grief following his mother’s death.

It appears Prince William is determined to change the way people view mental health so anyone who needs help won’t be afraid to get it.