Trigger Warning: Suicide and mental health discussion.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call these free helplines. Dial 1-800-273-TALK (8355) if you’re in the USA. And, if you’re in the U.K. and Republic of Ireland, please call Mind at 0300-123-3393 or text SHOUT to 85258

Meghan Markle’s Mental Health Struggles & Resources To Create A Mental Health Plan

Lessons from Meghan Markle on how Christians can prevent suicide and seek mental health support.png

Sweeping the globe are discussions of Oprah’s interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry where mental health was named one of the reasons which led to the pair leaving the U.K. The interview aired in the U.S. on the evening of March 7th and in the U.K. and Ireland on March 8th. Regardless of your viewpoints on politics––the royal family, institution, and the decisions for Meghan and Harry to step down as working royals––an extremely important discussion point was brought up during the interview that should be society’s focus rather than choosing a side and disputing what “should have happened”. We can’t change the past but we can take the steps today to create a better future.

understanding the last few years

Meghan bravely recounted the battle within her mind––a self-waged war she was trying to win. “Look, I was really ashamed to say it at the time and ashamed to have to admit it, to Harry especially, because I know how much loss he’s suffered. But I knew that if I didn’t say it that I would do it—and I just didn’t want to be alive anymore. And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought. And I remember how [Harry] just cradled me,” she said. “I’ve never felt this way before, and I need to go somewhere [to get help].” Meghan revealed that she was having suicidal thoughts and was thinking of harming herself. “This was very clear and very scary,” she said, inviting Oprah into what was her reality while working for the institution. Meghan was scared of these thoughts because they were unlike her––which she otherwise referred to as the natural thought pattern she’s had before––alludingto this being her first battle with having those intrusive thoughts of self-harm and wanting to end her life. Meghan also shared while she was working to overcome these thoughts from pressure, stress, and general struggles, she sought help. But, this is where things spiraled where it was intended to dawn a time of healing.

Meghan Markle was refused mental health support

“I was told that I couldn’t [get help], that it wouldn’t be good for the institution,” Meghan said to Oprah. But Meghan didn’t give up. She continued knocking on doors and asking for help. The denial continued and established itself as a heartbreaking pattern within the institution as Meghan was repeatedly turned away from accessing mental health support and proper care. “I need help,” Meghan said to Human Resources but “nothing was ever done.” In response to Meghan’s plea for taking back control of her mind, this is what Human Resources said to her: “My heart goes out to you because I see how bad it is, but there’s nothing we can do to protect you because you’re not a paid employee of the institution.”

“This wasn’t a choice,” Meghan continued. Her mental health struggle wasn’t a simple as choosing which necklace to wear and accessorize with or which exercise class to take based on how busy the schedule is. Every day Meghan was paralyzed by vigorous thoughts. I should kill myself monologues dance through her brain. “I just didn’t want to be alive anymore” became Meghan’s unintended default. Meghan had sent “emails”, she said, and was “begging for help saying very specifically: “I am concerned for my mental welfare.” I went to one of the most senior people to get help.” Meghan’s lack of proper mental health support––ultimately the denial of essential medical care, heightened her suicidal thoughts to the point where she feared if left alone her flirt with death would leave an irreconcilable impact on her husband and loved ones.

Thngs aren’t always how they seem

At this point, Meghan was pregnant with her now almost two years old, Archie, but during this time of her declining mental state she was not only trying to prioritize her life and mental health but the life of her unborn baby. Meghan told Oprah the reality of a popularized event photograph of her and Harry and how when she zoomed into the photo, she said, “what I saw was the truth of what that moment was. We had to go to an official event. We had to go to this event at the Royal Albert Hall, and a friend said, ‘I know you don’t look at pictures, but […] you guys look so great. And I zoomed in, and what I saw was the truth of what that moment was. Because right before we had to leave for that, I had just had that conversation with Harry that morning. what I see is how tightly his knuckles are gripped around mine,” she continued. “You can see the whites of our knuckles because we are smiling and doing our job, but we’re both just trying to hold on. And every time that those lights went down in that royal box, I was just weeping, and he was gripping my hand.” Meghan shared more about her mental health struggles and how there was no other option but to leave the U.K. and for her and Harry to seek mental health care and support for Meghan and as a couple, without the institution’s support. “I share this because there are so many people who are afraid to voice that they need help, and I know how hard it is to not just voice it but to be told ‘no’,” she said.

If you are battling with intrusive thoughts or other mental health struggles, please reach out for help and support. If you have reached out and were denied support like Meghan Markle shared that she was, please keep advocating for yourself because there is help readily available and waiting to support you. Below are a few resources who will walk alongside you and help you or someone you know to create a mental health plan.

Mental Health Resources:

Global Mental Health Help

TALK SPACE

The #1 rated online therapy with 1 million + users and accepts a variety of U.S. health insurances. Connect with a licensed therapist from the palm of your hand, and experience the most convenient, affordable way to improve your mental health. Start today.

Services Provided:

Unlimited Messaging Therapy
Couples Therapy
Psychiatry
Teen Therapy
Talkspace For Business
Student Plans
Assessments
Anxiety Test
Depression Test

BETTER HELP

The largest online counseling platform worldwide. Answer a few questions to find a therapist that fits your needs and preferences. Tap into the largest network of licensed, professional, board-certified providers.

Individual (yourself)
Couples
Teen

The Trevor Project Online International Support

The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people under 25.

Click here to learn about the international support and resources available.

HEADSPACE

Making meditation accessible to everyone through a smartphone app full of guided meditations.

Click here to view a list of resources by country that is free and available to you wherever and whenever you need it.

U.S. Mental Health Help

Free crisis helpline

If you or someone you know is in need to support, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8355)

THE TREVOR PROJECT

U.K. Mental Health Help

Free crisis helpline

If you or someone you know in the U.K and Republic of Ireland is in need to support, please call Mind at 0300-123-3393 or text SHOUT to 85258

MIND

A mental health charity making sure no one has to face a mental health problem alone.

Information also available online in Welsh

NHS Mental Health

Click here to view the resources the NHS provides.

Services Provided:

Get urgent help now for mental health
Access an NHS psychological therapies service (IAPT)
Depression and anxiety self-assessment quiz
Advice for life situations and events
Self-help
Talking therapies, medicine, and psychiatry

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND mental health resources

At all levels, the Church can be a voice for the voiceless’ helping to reduce the stigma often associated with peoples’ mental health. Click here to view the homepage of the mental health resources the church offers.

Support Provided:

Tips to deal with loneliness and isolation
13 Daily reflections
Minority ethnic mental health resources toolkit
Pastoral care
Community care
Connection to larger organizations that can create a personalized mental health plan

Papyrus

Suicide prevention charity.

Call the hotline hope from 9 am-Midnight every day of the year at 0900-068-4141

Samaritans

Whatever you’re going through, a Samaritan will face it with you. We’re here 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Call the free help and support hotline at 116 123 for free and click here for the other ways you can get in touch.

YoungMinds’

the UK’s leading charity fighting for children and young people’s mental health. We will make sure all young people get the best possible mental health support. Click here to get help.