Prince William gets candid about his mental health struggles
Although he has grown up in front of the world and is second-in-line to the British throne, Prince William has candidly opened up about his own struggles with his mental health.
The Duke of Cambridge vulnerably discussed his experience while launching a website that aims to improve mental health in the workplace.
William partnered with the initiative after hearing that only two per cent of employees in Britain feel comfortable discussing their mental health to their HR departments.
Recalling his time as an air ambulance pilot, William explained: “I took a lot home without realising it. You see [so] many sad things every day that you think life is like that."
The royal spent two years as an East Anglian Air Ambulance pilot and admitted that while serving, he battled to deal with the emotions that were impacting his personal life.
"You're always dealing with despair and sadness and injury,” he continued.
"The attrition builds up and you never really have the opportunity to offload anything if you're not careful.”
William explained that many who are struggling with their mental health are “suffering in silence” due to the lack of resources available.
"If we are going to improve the mental health of our nation, we need to improve things at work.
People spend more time there than almost anywhere else, yet research shows that it's also the place where we're least comfortable talking about mental health." #MentalHealthatWork pic.twitter.com/v3Cv6Nn1xy— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) September 11, 2018
"You're human and a lot of people forget the battles, you have shut it off to do the job—but ultimately something pierces the armour," he noted.
Prince William, Duchess Kate and Prince Harry first became mental health ambassadors when they launched Heads Together in 2016.
The website William launched, Mental Health at Work, is a free portal for employers and employees in the UK where they can access resources on mental health.
Earlier this year in March, the 36-year-old expressed his determination to end the stigma surrounding mental health in the workplace.
"Just starting a conversation on mental health can make all the difference," Prince William said at the time.
"When you talk about something you have less reason to fear it and when you can talk about something you are much more likely to ask for help."
Yesterday, he emphasised his view once again, saying: "It just takes one person to change the way a company thinks about mental health."