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Prince Harry is looking back at a vulnerable chapter.
Six years after the Duke of Sussex temporarily moved to Vancouver, Canada, with wife Meghan Markle and now-7-year-old son Archieas part of their step away from their royal duties, he shared insight into struggling with his mental health at the time.
“We moved to Canada to get some space away from everything, just to be able to think,” Harry explained during an interview for MasterClass’ new Redefining Grief: Building Resilience Through Loss, “away from the stressful environment where presumably my body was just pumped full of adrenaline.”
“Within two or three days, I experienced this adrenaline crash—something that I’d never experienced before,” he admitted. “It was as if I needed stress in order to get the adrenaline to make my brain function because I became useless around the house.”
For Harry—who moved to Montecito, California, with Meghan and Archie four months after relocating to Canada—the transition to a slower pace of life was initially jarring.
“I actually slipped into depression for about two weeks,” he recalled. “I felt like I couldn’t function without adrenaline.”
The Invictus Games founder—who also shares daughter Lilibet, 5, with Meghan—had especially struggled with adrenaline peaks after ending his 10-year career in the British Army. However, it really stemmed from the emotional toll of the death of his Prince William‘s mom Princess Diana in 1997.
“What was really interesting was,” he explained, “my post-traumatic stress was not tied to my experience in Afghanistan. The things that I saw and the things I experienced appeared to be a trigger for other traumas that had stored themselves within me.”
Harry admitted that although he learned where his adrenaline spikes—which he shared had made him numb and allowed him to keep pushing forward, even in the most stressful situations—came from, he struggled to accept help.
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“Once I realized where the superhero is coming from and the connection to it,” he said, “my fear was: if I heal from it, if I go looking for the fix, then do I lose it? Do I lose the superpower? Does that mean I lose my connection to my mum?”
The 42-year-old—who moved back to England in September with his family, although without resuming royal duties—struggled with working on his mental health problems.
“I spent so long emotionally numb to a large extent because I felt disloyal and guilty for the possibility of being happy and joyful without her,” he explained. “I felt like I had to be sad and I had to be emotionally numb in order to prove to her that I missed her.”
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But his perspective ultimately shifted, adding, “What I discovered was that she actually just wanted me to be happy. That was a huge mental shift for me. It freed me.”
And now, Harry has the tools to cope with his emotions.
“The key to it all is knowing yourself and knowing how your nervous system and whole body react to certain situations,” he added. “For me now, I can recognize when I get an adrenaline surge. I also know what doesn’t require adrenaline.”
For a closer look at more celebrities who shared insight into their own mental health journeys, keep reading.
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If you or someone you know needs help, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.






