I think harry is really brave

[ssd]

Talking about his mental health. Starting talking is the hardest bit. I have to start the conversation and i cant. And i can usually talk for Britain.
I admire him.

When his relationship with Meghan breaks down, which it inevitably will, he may regret discussing his grievances with his family on international TV. And as for wanting to protect his own children fro the pain of his own upbringing, well- it's' not going well or looking promising so far, is it..?

Harry has grown up with the media. I'm sure he has received coaching in "how to... the media".
For this reason, sadly I believe he does know what he is doing and how he wants to be seen.

The same point is being made about his mother and the Bashir interview on another thread.

I think he definitely takes after his mother and the problem with both of them is that they have huge emotional intelligence but no political savvy. So breaking free of the advisers who would have told them not to spill their guts in television, hasn’t been a great move for either of them.

I don't think he is brave... I think he is airing his dirty laundry in public. There is a reason why therapy is confidential - it shouldn't be used to point figures in a very public sphere. He is not raising awareness for others, he is creating a royal version of the Jeremy Kyle show - yet he gets paid large sums of money for it.

@HeraInTheHereAndNow

DelilahDingleberry

“I am appalled at the way people are talking about mental health on this site today. Absolutely appalled.”

Really.

You ought to be. When my son was suicidal and brought home by the police having stood on a railway bridge deliberating on life and death, he was told there were no beds available locally. A bed was found for him at The Maudsley in London (135 miles away) but not until he was 18 as it was an adult unit. So, we were out in a CAMHS waiting list.

Forgive me if I don’t feel huge sympathy for Harry. I do however, feel greatly for all the kids/young people who wait 18months plus for a mental health clinic appointment.

My heart goes out to you. I’ve been there and so has my mum and nan. My nan ended up in an asylum having electric shock therapy in the 60’s and she was never the same again. My mum has tried to take her own life and then I followed the same path. I hope your son gets the help he needs

The one thing that keeps repeating in my mind is that Meghan when 6 months pregnant states she felt suicdal. She actively had a well articulated plan on how she would take her life, and the life of her then unborn son. Since that time she has experienced the trauma of miscarriage and a, even if wanted, move through two countries and at least three homes. She is now in month 6, or possibly later, of a second pregnancy. AND this is the time they have, as a couple, determined is right to make all these pronouncements. No one can foresee if they will have post natal depression, it is an insidious illness that respects neither wealth, privilege or the desire of a mother to be well. I would suggest that if a person was so mentally unwell in their first pregnancy that they considered taking their life and floundered to get, what for them, was adequate support, that the primary consideration in a second pregnancy would be to attempt to create an atmosphere of calm, counselled by a team of professionals who have expertise to spot symptoms and assist at the earliest opportunity. I just cannot see how what Meghan and Harry are doing can be positive for them. For that, and a myriad, of other reasons (primarily about the impact on another very young family) I do not feel this is ‘brave’ of Harry.

I really think he has "opened up" and thinks is is unburdening himself and his problems, as though he is the only person who has ever done this! Most people while initially sympathetic ,are getting a little bit tired of his" Hard done by Harry mantra".There is a difference between letting people know there were some problems in his past ,and the coming to terms with his Mothers death(Not easy I know as I lost my dad as a child too.) Surely there is such a thing as Oversharing! He runs the risk of becoming tiresome !

@Justme10

Honestly from reading some of the comments on this thread it's no wonder people are too afraid to speak out when they are struggling.

Do you think it's a good thing for people to 'speak out' when that means publicly trashing your family, repeatedly?

Should William 'speak out' about the trauma his thick, spoilt brat of a brother caused to him and his family? Maybe Chelsy or Cressida could go on to a talk show to tell the world what a shit boyfriend he was? For 'mental health' purposes?

Of course Harry knows neither William nor anyone else in the family will do that, which means his claims will go unchallenged. Which makes his 'speaking out' all the more cowardly.

I can't help but think that if his marriage should end... for any reason... he will be well and truly on his own.
He is cutting himself a drift from his family with only his wife by his side.... very risky I my opinion.

Also, I haven't watched the new documentary in full; but I mean to slag your parent off like that is pretty mean!
No parent is perfect, royal or not. We all try our bests. How devastating would it be for your child to go on national tv and basically call you a bad parent!! As a parent himself cannot put himself in Charles shoes!

I have no doubt his family has made mistakes, especially Charles. But as parents we do our best in the situation we're in and with what we know, and I don't think his father did any different. It might not have been the ideal childhood, but I'm sure he had a better childhood than many. I don't think Harry is brave at all. To me it seems like he's out for revenge and hoping to make some money doing so. He should be ashamed of himself.

@derxa There is a lot of truth in that. I remember when my children were pre teen looking at my own mother with a very critical eye. She undoubtedly had her flaws but now my children are teens, I truly understand how difficult parenting is.

Harry’s parents marriage sounded toxic, he was raised in the typical upper class way, with nannies and boarding school etc. Diana’s death was of course hugely traumatic but try losing a parent or living in a toxic household with no money and your mother working all hours to put food on the table.

He’s an absolute baby

A close colleague of mine had a very troubled childhood and spent years in therapy as a result (before I knew her). What I find interesting about her is she’s so forgiving and kind when she talks about her parents and shows so much empathy and kindness to others. She’s a real inspiration. I believe that’s what therapy should do for a person. Harry doesn’t seem to be at a stage where he should be sharing. It’s great to talk about mental health but I don’t think he’s ready to really discuss his own, at least in detail.

Gosh, couldn't disagree more, OP. He's not just discussing his mental health, he's publicly trash-talking his family. It's low.

Just out of interest, has anyone watched the programme? I'd like to know how much of this is a genuine reaction after having viewed it.

Summercocktailsinthesnow

When he talks about his day to day like with his wife and child, his second child on the way....yes, he looks happy.
When discussing events of the past, family issues, losing his mum, he looks distressed.

I’d say that’s normal. I had a bad childhood, abusive father etc. I feel, and I presume I look distressed when talking about that part of my life. But I am very happy now in my day to day life.

@ssd

I disagree. If talking to the media helps him, then so be it. Im currently having counselling from a trained professional and getting nowhere. And dont tell me to find someone else, its through the gp and rarer than gens teeth.

I applaud anyone who speaks about mental health, however in this case I find it very distasteful. He unlike many, many thousands of people has access to the best health care and also the luxury of choice. If one therapist didn't fit him or his wife they had enough money to be able to seek another. We as normal people have to take what we are given on the NHS (unless we can afford £40+ a week), which is underfunded and the therapist may not even be of a good standard in practice although will have excellent qualifications, many NHS therapist are hit and miss. On paper many therapist are excellent, in reality not so much.

@Bagamoyo1

What frustrates me is rich celebrities going on about how important it is to acknowledge mental health problems and seek help, when they have massive resources to get said help. Most people are dependent on the NHS, and psych services are woefully underfunded . So admitting you have a problem is just the first stage. You then have to wait months to get some counselling. I’d prefer wealthy celebs to sponsor services rather than do tear jerking interviews. But I guess if it encourages people to open up then it’s better than nothing.

There needs to be a focus on MH provission in the U.K. it’s incredibly under resourced. Some of the stories on this thread about people trying to get help for their own children having MH emergencies are so upsetting. Harry could have done so much good with the focus on provision for all, creating an umbrella charity for teens for instance. Shining a light and illustrating his own and his wife’s mental health problems really does nothing to improve things for anyone except themselves. I also get really wary of hearing about high profile people talking about suicide, suicide ideation is a real thing that health professionals warn against. We really shouldn’t be bringing suicide ideation into daily discourse. It can trigger people.

Icedpurple I think everyone has the right to speak out if they feel they need to, as far as I can see nobody is stopping them.

Charles found it acceptable to tell the nation all about his affair in an interview didn't he? I imagine that would of had an impact on Diana's mental health and she then went on to do her own.

Harry's family didn't take care of his mental health when he was a child, why should he be prioritising theirs now.

He is not what I call brave, he has become very tedious and annoying. He is not a bit like his Brother, who has had problems too, but who is very grounded,and sensible,and speaks his mind, and gets on with life with his family , instead of dwelling on mental health issues all the time.

I think he's horrible - or at least, his behaviour is horrible. What's the word for when someone turns against the monarch, the country, his family, and tries to do them harm? There is a word for it.

“There is nothing attractive about a sulking moaning man-child “

This is very true. I wonder if Meghan originally encouraged him to seek therapy and if so, does she regret it now?

I can’t help feeling that whoever is advising them now is doing a terrible job, as they seem to be ruffling feathers on both sides of the Atlantic! Or is the plan to be controversial for publicity purposes? But then this is completely at odds with wanting a quieter life...

@Summercocktailsinthesnow

All that "Be Kind" content on people's profiles, and it is, for the most part, just cosmetic, virtue-signalling bollocks on their part. They're not kind. At all

I think you will find this is precisely how people see Harry and Meghan, having spouting out the be kind messages etc, Harry choose to ignore his own Grandfather dying in London and instead of coming back to say goodbye, he launched the most horrific attack on the RF in the shape of the Oprah show, and then had the audacity to turn up for the funeral whilst lining up his next campaign against them?
Do you really think these are the actions of someone KIND or compassionate?
I mean seriously. Prince Philip was only buried last month and already he is attacking an elderly widow, that so happens to be his grandmother and the Queen. Running through his inherited pain at this point in time is a disgrace/
Do you think publicly slating a family in mourning is going to be met with anything other than disgust in the UK?

He didn't ignore his grandpa. (Interestingly emotive language on your part, though). He flew in for his grandpa's funeral, visited his granny, and then flew backto his pregnant wife.

At what point is someone allowed to speak out about these things? Do they have to wait until all the old ones have died off? All the points you make about considering the other people in the family: those are the exact same tactics that abusive families use on abuse victims: think of your old granny/young cousins/whoever. There is always someone the abuse victim must consider, always a reason to stay quiet.

Do you think publicly slating a family in mourning is going to be met with anything other than disgust in the UK?

I think that depends on the family and who they're mourning. It also depends on the individual's moral compass, and how the feel about mental health and other issues.

I remember Saville's family lashing out at his great-niece when she spoke out about him. The rest of the family accused her of bringing shame upon them. She didn't, Saville himself did that.
As far as the family were concerned, she should have kept quiet.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/you-ve-brought-shame-us-all-angry-family-members-target-jimmy-savile-s-great-niece-facebook-after-she-speaks-out-about-star-molesting-her-8230956.html

Agreed OP. He is brave, considering the prejudiced and racist backlash he and Meghan are getting.

I wonder if he's given any thought to the impact he's having on other people's mental health. His family are in mourning, does he have no empathy at all. Because it feels like he's so wrapped up in himself he's oblivious to everyone else.

@DoingItMyself

I think he's horrible - or at least, his behaviour is horrible. What's the word for when someone turns against the monarch, the country, his family, and tries to do them harm? There is a word for it.

Oh dear it's not Medieval times. He won't be hanged, drawn and quartered because humanity has moved on from those times.

Though going on some responses here I'm not entirely sure anymore.