HARRY SAYS BEING IN LONDON ‘TRIGGERS’ HIM
‘For most of my life, I’ve always felt worried, concerned, a little bit tense and uptight whenever I fly back into the UK, whenever I fly back into London’, he reveals
Prince Harry has opened up about his anxiety of being in London, stating that the nation’s capital “triggers” him.
His shocking comments form part of a new Apple TV+ docuseries with Oprah Winfrey called The Me You Can’t See, which focuses on mental health.
Speaking candidly about issues involving his mother, Princess Diana’s death, and his own coping mechanisms involving drugs and alcohol, the Duke also spoke about his wife Meghan’s suicidal thoughts following intensive media scrutiny and vilification.
In the docuseries, we see Prince Harry sitting down with Sanja Oakley, an EMDR (Eye Movement and Desensitisation and Reprocessing) consultant, to talk about his experiences of trauma and the therapy he now has to manage this.
“For most of my life, I’ve always felt worried, concerned, a little bit tense and uptight whenever I fly back into the UK, whenever I fly back into London,” he begins.
“And I can never understand why, I was aware of it - I wasn’t aware of it at the time when I was younger but after I started doing therapy and stuff like that I became aware of it.
“I was like ‘why do I feel so uncomfortable?’ And of course for me, London is a trigger, unfortunately. Because of what happened to my mum, and because of what I experienced and what I saw,” he says.
He then goes on to say the negative thoughts he has during these moments are about “being the hunted and being helpless and knowing that you can’t do anything about it. There is no escape. There is no way out of this”.
Prince Harry cites a trip to Africa after the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in which he describes feeling “so free” and as “a cure”.
He said: “There was a sense of escapism that I’d never felt before, and to then come back to the UK knowing what I was gonna be confronted with and knowing what I couldn’t get away from was scary.”
The duke disclosed that he has been in therapy for “four and bit years, five now” and that he and his family prioritise working towards good mental health.
“For me, it’s all about prevention,” he said.
