Meghan Markle candidly spoke on World Mental Health Day about the impact of being trolled. The Duchess & Prince Harry sat down for a podcast interview with teens.
Meghan Markle, 39, talked all things mental health when she sat down with the Teenager Therapy podcast on World Mental Health Day. The Duchess of Sussex was joined by her husband Prince Harry for the candid discussion about how being the “most trolled person” in the world affected her mental health. “I’m told that in 2019 I was the most trolled person in the entire world, male or female. Now eight months of that, I wasn’t even visible. I was on maternity leave or with a baby,” Meghan began explaining to the teenaged hosts Gael Aitor, Kayla Suarez, and Thomas Pham.
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“But what was able to just be manufactured and churned out, it’s almost unsurvivable. That’s so big, you can’t even think of what that feels like. Because I don’t care if you’re 15 or 25, if people are saying things about you that aren’t true, what that does to your mental and emotional health is so damaging.” She also reminded fans that she’s only human, and experiences the same emotions as the rest of us.
“So I think from my standpoint, and part of the work that we do, is our own personal experiences and being able to talk to people, and understand that even through our experiences [are] unique to us and obviously can seem very different to what people experience on the day to day, it’s still a very human experience and that’s universal,” she said, adding, “We all know what it feels like to have our feelings hurt. We all know what it feels like to be isolated or the other … We are all figuring it out.”
The couple, who recently moved to California after stepping away from royal duties, have been spending more time with their adorable son Archie. Harry said it was important to acknowledge their emotions and not simply say “I’m fine.” Meghan also recalled the time when journalist Tom Bradby asked her how she was doing in 2019. At the time she replied, “Not many people have asked if I’m OK,” adding that she was “struggling” with her newfound attention.
She told the podcast hosts, “I didn’t realize that my answer would receive such an interest from around the world. But I think it speaks to the fact that the reason that it resonated with people is because everyone wants to be asked if they’re OK. So today I would say, I am doing really well. Thank you for asking.”
