Prince William (36) has been a constant voice in recent mental health discussions. On Wednesday he took part in a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland to talk about the vital role that major employers play in their staffs' mental wellbeing.
He believes that we should learn from past mistakes. Bottling up emotions and maintaining a traditional British stiff upper lip is outdated. William argued, "I think now, there’s a generation finally realising that this is not normal, we should talk about (whatever is troubling us)".
He went on, "We’ve got to start tackling it now so that our children and grandchildren don’t have to go through this process, and they can be a lot more open about it".
Prince William has struggled with mental health issues in the past
And Prince William put his money where his mouth is, admitting that he had almost made the mistake of retreating into his own shell and not sharing his troubles. Working as an air ambulance pilot a few years ago, the Duke of Cambridge was involved in one incident that he found particularly distressing.
"I still find it very difficult to talk about it," William revealed. Adding, "I get very emotional about it because it relates very closely to my children and so it is very hard to talk about it.”
It's not always easy balancing work and home life!
Prince William opens up about his mental health difficulties
All workers in both the medical sector as well as police and those in the emergency services experience heartbreaking tragedies. For Prince William talking about these experiences and realising that a support network did exist was crucial. the most important thing was understanding and realising it was there. "I know that if I hadn’t taken the action that I did then, I would have definitely gone down a slippery slope and I would have been dealing with mental illness on a different level".
Prince William joined by New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacina Ardern for panel discussion on mental health
Jacinda Ardern also joined the panel discussion, her second run-in with the British Royal Family of the week, as she visited Meghan at home at Kensington Palace on Monday.
