People reports that Prince William recently spoke at a Guild of Health Writers event, where he addressed key health journalists in London. Here's what he had to say:
“Mental health was the great taboo. If you were anxious, it’s because you were weak. If you couldn’t cope with whatever life threw at you, it’s because you were failing. Successful, strong people don’t suffer like that, do they? But of course – we all do. It’s just that few of us speak about it.”
On his interest in mental health, which stems from issued he witnessed in his work as an air ambulance pilot:
“It was suicide, a subject that is so often hidden. The suicide rate among young men in this country is an appalling stain on our society. Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 40 in this country. Not cancer, not knife crime, not road deaths — suicide. If one of these other issues took so many young lives, there would be a national outcry. This silence is killing good people.”
On the need to create an atmosphere where people can discuss mental health openly:
“On average it takes a sufferer 10 years to admit to a problem. This means that what often starts as a fairly minor issue becomes something serious and medical after time. Silence can kill; but talking can lead to help and support.”
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