On February 18, Prince William made a surprise appearance on BBC Radio 1's "Life Hacks."
The Gist
As part of a panel discussion, the Prince of Wales discussed mental health and suicide, sharing rare insight into his own journey.
The future king encouraged people to "learn to love yourself and understand yourself."
Even amid his kids' half-term break from school,Prince Williamtook the time to take part in a surprise interview—one that was vulnerable and focused on mental health.
On February 18, the Prince of Wales was an unexpected guest on BBC Radio 1's "Life Hacks," talking about his own mental health challenges and "tools" he uses to deal with them, perPeople. The future king encouraged people to "learn to love yourself and understand yourself" as he joined a panel discussion on male suicide.
"I take a long time trying to understand my emotions and why I feel like I do, and I feel like that's a really important process to do every now and again," William said on the show. "To check in with yourself and work out why you're feeling like you do." He added that "Sometimes there is an obvious explanation, sometimes there isn't. I think that idea that a mental health crisis is temporary—you can have a strong mental health crisis moment, but it will pass."
"Part of feeling comfortable talking about mental health is understanding it," he continued. "And if you've got guys who have really gone about trying to really learn about what feelings are, why we feel like we do, what can we do about it? That's part of the conversation, too."
The Prince of Wales said, "We need more male role models out there, kind of talking about it and normalizing it so that it becomes something that is second nature to all of us." He also spoke of having a mental health toolkit, telling the panel, "When we're born, and when we grow up, and through life, you're sort of, depending on circumstance, family, upbringing, whatever it might be, you have a certain toolbox next to you, but no one has all the tools in it."
"Not one person in this world has all the tools for every eventuality your mental state's going to come across," he said. "And I like to go around looking for new tools to put in my toolbox when I might need it. And if we look at it like that, it does normalize the idea that the brain just needs sometimes a little bit of help, but we can't expect to have all the answers ourselves, and it's okay to ask for support, ask a mate, reach out, and that becomes just the normalization process of what's going on inside your head."
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The Prince of Wales has long campaigned to end the stigma surrounding mental health, saying on "Life Hacks" that, historically, "We're not very good at talking about it," perThe Telegraph, and that it was a "national catastrophe" that mental health and suicide was not spoken about more.
William shared that, even as a royal, he was "not immune to bad days," but added, "I find that some of the places I go to, the people I meet are having a really tricky time. That helps me put my own life into perspective. But also, I carry with me their burden sometimes, and that's the bit I find very difficult sometimes. I feel other people's pain and that overwhelms me sometimes, and I have to deal with that."
Of his own kidsPrince George,Princess Charlotte, andPrince Louis,William jokedwhen asked if they talk openly about their feelings, "Yes, sometimes too much," adding, "I get all the details, which I love. It's amazing. Being able to understand it, have time with it, decipher it."
"You feel a sense you need to fix it for everyone, and that I find quite difficult," William continued. "I have to remind myself—you don't need to fix everything, but you do need to listen, and it's important to be okay with those feelings and those comments."
"So it's important we understand where we are now," he added. "We've got a long way to go in this journey, but it's really crucial to understand where we've come from."
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