Prince William talks about mental health issues in the LGBTQ+ community: ‘Mental fitness is very important…’
“Mental fitness is very important, and we’ve got to get better at having open conversations and discussing these issues, being here today and hearing about your insights and experiences will mean a lot to young people,” Prince William said.
Prince William showed his support for the LGBTQ+ community and marked the end of Pride Month with a heartfelt discussion about mental health issues among queer persons.
The Prince of Wales visited the Royal Vauxhall Tavern in South London–one of the oldest LGBTQ+ spaces in the UK– where he interacted with three volunteers from two different nonprofit organisations, The Mix and Shout. Both charities offer free confidential support to young people.
He talked to the volunteers including Michael Lister, a chair of The Mix youth advisory board, and Sharvari Patil, a volunteer at The Mix and Alexis Caught, a Shout volunteer about the mental health challenges faced by the queer community. “Mental fitness is very important, and we’ve got to get better at having open conversations and discussing these issues, being here today and hearing about your insights and experiences will mean a lot to young people,” William said.
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He even shared shocking statistics about the difficulties faced by young men when it comes to mental health support. Expressing that he had read research from Stonewall–which carries out studies on the LGBTQ+ community–that said: “1 in 8 young men kill themselves in the community.” He added, “That’s an unbelievable, terrifying stat.”
Alexis explained, “We categorically know it is not sexuality or gender identity that causes mental ill health, it is actually the experience of the wide world.” Adding, the volunteer said, “Experiencing homophobia, discrimination, negative discourse on social media, bullying, lack of protections, fear of how you’re going to be rejected by family all of those things add to the mental load.”
On the other hand, Michael opened up about how it’s way more difficult for young men to talk about their mental health. Agreeing with this, William said, “Guys particularly find emotions quite difficult. Don’t quite know how to deal with them. Strong emotions, no emotions, whatever it might be we find it quite hard. I think that’s where we’ve got to get better at an open conversation about these things.”
The prince also asked for “tips and tricks for keeping your mental fitness going,” and questioned the group on the advice they would give to people who need support. To this, Michael replied that reaching out to charities and organisations had helped him, while Alexis suggested to “ask twice” if someone seems like they may need help.
Previously too, William has been vocal about his support for the LGBTQ+ community. In 2019, he quipped that he would “fully support” his children if they were gay.
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First published on: 03-07-2023 at 19:30 IST
