Prince Harry has revealed he sought counselling four years ago, after coming close to a "complete breakdown" brought on by years of refusing to deal with the grief of losing his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
In a new, candid podcast interview, the 32-year-old prince spoke frankly of the grief he felt after his mother died in a car crash in 1997.
He said his way of dealing with the pain was to stick his “head in the sand,” refusing to ever think about her, because it would only have saddened him and done nothing to bring her back.
But, he said, years of repressing his feelings eventually took a toll.
"I can safely say that losing my mum at the age of 12, and therefore shutting down all of my emotions for the last 20 years, has had a quite serious effect on not only my personal life but also my work as well,” he told the British newspaper, the Daily Telegraph.
He added that he had “probably been very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions” when all sorts of grief and pressures came at him “from every angle."
For several years, Harry had a reputation as “the party prince,” following several reports of underage drinking and partying, including one notorious incident in Las Vegas after which photos emerged of him cavorting nude in a hotel room.
Harry told the Telegraph that, about four years ago, after two years of "total chaos," his older brother, William, and others around him suggested Harry needed to take care of his mental health.
He said they told him: "Look, you really need to deal with this. It is not normal to think that nothing has affected you."
Harry said he has since done counselling “a couple of times -- more than a couple of times" and found it helpful to open up to a professional counsellor.
“Some of the best people, or easiest people, to speak to is a shrink or whoever - the Americans call them shrinks - someone you have never met before,” he said.
"You sit down on the sofa and say 'Listen, I don't actually need your advice; can you just listen?' And you just let it all rip."
He said that because of the "process” he had been through," he now feels in "a good place.” Harry has since taken a renewed interest in philanthropy, and in 2014, launched the Invictus Games, a Paralympic-style competition for wounded and sick soldiers and veterans.
The candid nature of the prince’s interview was unusual for the British royals, who have traditionally kept silent about personal issues.
But the interview was intended to promote another of Harry’s charities, called Heads Together, which brings together several charities aimed at breaking the stigma of mental health issues.
