On the latest episode of her podcast Archetypes, which is releasing episodes again after a brief break due to the death of the Queen, Meghan Markle opened up about her declining mental health while living in the UK and how Prince Harry helped encourage her to eventually seek help.
While discussing “The Decoding of Crazy”’ with special guests actress Constance Wu, comedian Jenny Slate, and Bollywood star Deepik Padukone, the Duchess of Sussex candidly discussed finally seeking professional help at her “worst point.”
“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,” Markle said while speaking with Padukone. “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,” and I’m introducing myself … And she could hear the dire state that I was in.”
“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,” Markle continued.
Earlier in the episode, the duchess discussed her disdain for the label “crazy” and its frequent use, especially when geared toward women. “I feel pretty strongly about this word … this label: ‘crazy,’” she said. “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,” Markle continued. “This effect where women experiencing real mental health issues, they get scared, they stay quiet, they internalize and repress for far too long.”
Markle revealed in her interview with Oprah in March 2021 that the treatment she received from the British press, as well as some involved with The Firm, led her to a severe state of depression and a mental breaking point during her pregnancy with Archie Harrison. “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,” she said. “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.”
Markle went on to reveal that when she told the royal family she “needed to go somewhere to get help,” they said she “couldn’t, that it wouldn’t be good for the institution.”
“I share this because there’s so many people who are afraid to voice that they need help,” Oprah told Winfrey at the time. “And I know personally how hard it is to — not just hard it is but when your voice is silenced, to be told no.”
