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In an essay for CNN, John Duffy, a psychologist and author of Parenting the New Teen in the Age of Anxiety, reflected on the revelations shared during the two-hour, which saw both the Duke and Duchess of Sussex discuss their mental health and emotional struggles during their time as working members of the royal family.
At one point during the conversation, Prince Harry revealed that he had grown desperate over the lack of help and support available to himself and his wife, telling Winfrey: “I was desperate. I went to all the places I thought I should go to ask for help; we both did, separately and together.”
According to Harry, he and Meghan never received the support – both for their mental health and help dealing with the negative barrage of press – they desperately needed at the time, which ultimately convinced the couple to step back from their roles as senior members of the royal family for fear of history “repeating itself”.
Elsewhere in the interview, the duke said he was “trapped,” describing his life as a member of the royal family to Winfrey as: “I was trapped but I didn’t know I was trapped. Trapped within the system like the rest of the family.”
The duke’s honesty and openness about the impact of his and his wife’s mental health struggles and the strained relationships he has with family members is important, according to Duffy, who described it as “one of the most striking elements of the interview” and an example as to why Harry is a “role model” of masculinty.
“I wish other men and boys could do the same. Harry’s emotional expression could encourage men and boys to open up as well, and to reframe and broaden our definition of masculinity,” he continued.
As Duffy acknowledged it is “no secret that we do not raise our boys to express themselves emotionally,” with the psychologist adding that “Harry is, by all accounts, a guy’s guy, a man’s man, a role model for masculinity”.
However, according to Duffy, the transparency with which the duke discussed these topics, especially on a platform as large as his, can pave the way for others to do so as well – and for emotional conversations to become the norm among boys and men.
In an effort to continue combating the existing framework of masculinity, Duffy has encouraged people, but men especially, to understand and use emotional language, “talk about emotional wellness and illness more openly in your home,” which can help “redefine masculinity,” and to look to male role models who are open and comfortable discussing mental health.
Overall, Duffy said that the duke and duchess’s interview with Winfrey was “striking and even shocking,” and we would be remiss “if we failed to recognise Harry’s emotional intelligence” and didn’t go on to use it as “a springboard for enhancing the emotional wellness of our men and boys”.
The psychologist’s praise for the interview comes after viewers also applauded the couple for speaking openly about their experiences and mental health.
“I don’t care for the royals at all but I have to applaud Prince Harry’s standard of masculinity,” one person tweeted. “Recognising and learning from your own trauma and detaching yourself from a harmful space despite dogma & expectation for the safety and well-being of your wife and kids is admirable.”
Another said: “Why aren’t we celebrating a man like Prince Harry? A man who kept his family safe, even to the point where he turned his back on his family. This is how we break toxic masculinity.”
Among those praising the duke and duchess was the White House, with White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stating that: “For anyone to come forward and speak about their own struggles with mental health and tell their own personal story – that takes courage, and that’s certainly something the president believes.”
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