Meghan Markle addressed the difficult topic of mental health on the latest episode of her Archetypes podcast, explaining how her husband Prince Harry helped her through one of her more challenging moments.
In the episode released on Tuesday titled “The Decoding of Crazy,” the Duchess of Sussex spoke with Constance Wu, Jenny Slate and Bollywood star Deepika Padukone about how that label has been applied to women and stigmatizes those seeking help. While speaking with Padukone, Meghan revealed how when she was at her “worst point” psychologically, Harry found a way to help her. “I mean I think, at my worst point, being finally connected to someone that, you know, my husband had found a referral for me to call and I called this woman,” she said. “She didn’t know I was even calling her and she was checking out at the grocery store. I could hear the little beep, beep, and I was like, ‘Hi,’ I’m introducing myself and like I can literally hear her going, ‘Wait, sorry. I’m just…Who is this?’ And saying I need help. And she could hear the dire state that I was in.” She continued, “But I think it’s for all of us to be really honest about what it is that you need and to not be afraid to make peace with that, to ask for it.”
During the introduction to the episode the royal also added, “I feel pretty strongly about this word…this label: ‘crazy’…the way that it’s thrown around so casually and the damage it’s wrought on society and women everywhere—from relationships to families being shattered, reputations destroyed, and careers ruined. The stigma surrounding the word, it also has this silencing effect—this effect where women experiencing real mental health issues, they get scared, they stay quiet, they internalize and repress for far too long.”
During her conversation with Wu, the actress once again shared the story of her 2019 suicide attempt after receiving online backlash for tweeting that she was “really upset” about the renewal of her show Fresh Off the Boat. Many accused her of being ungrateful for her lead role on the hit sitcom at the time, however, last month Wu revealed that she had actually faced “sexual harassment and intimidation” while on set by one of the show’s producers. As she recounted the story on the podcast, Wu began to cry and Meghan told her, “If you weren’t crying, I’d be worried. Right? Because so much of it is, especially based on what you’re talking about, which is when everything’s just building up, building up internalized emotion, whether it’s sadness or relief or everything. I mean how—just like when you’re talking about with your daughter, when you watch our kids, the most beautiful thing in the world, even though in the moment it might not feel that way, is if they have a breakdown and they just scream and they let it all out. They let it all out and guess what happens?” Wu replied, “And then a second later, they’re like…,” the Duchess interjected, “They’re fine. Because they let it out.”
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