Why We ShoulD LEAN Deeper into the Meghan & Harry Interview?

     On Sunday night, CBS aired a two-hour primetime special with Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The wide-ranging interview was conducted by Oprah Winfrey and included a number of revelations about the contentious relationship that Harry and Meghan have with the royal family. Oprah’s mastery as an interviewer was on full display as she played the interview straight, giving Meghan, who was interviewed first, the space to tell her side of the story. And, oh boy, did she tell a story! This highly anticipated interview, viewed worldwide by millions, revealed a mental health storyline that I was not expecting.   During her time alone with Winfrey, and later when joined by her husband, Harry, the Duchess spoke candidly about her mental health deterioration, while living under “the institution” in the UK, and the relentless negative, public assault by the British tabloids. Meghan further discussed her “unsurvivable” situation that driving her to thoughts of suicide.  “I just didn’t see a solution,”  she said. She would go on to share a painful experience she endured while attending an engagement at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Coincidentally, Meghan explained to Oprah that just hours before this event occurred, she confided to her husband for the first time the mental health challenges she was experiencing. “Every time the lights went down in the royal box, I was just weeping,” she said. Photographs of Meghan and Harry at the event, featured during the broadcast, showed a beaming Meghan wearing a beautiful royal blue-colored gown and Harry in a dashing tuxedo.  On the surface, this young couple looked stunning. However, in reality, they were suffering and grappling with an existential mental health crisis. 

       During the broadcast, the conversation about Meghan’s alleged mental issue was never spoken about in concert with her also being pregnant with Archie - - the couple’s first child. Why did this issue not be the attention I feel that it needed? Here, Meghan was not simply a woman with emerging mental health issues, she was a pregnant woman with existential mental health issues. Perhaps the issue of being pregnant and having mental issues was apart of the conversation but ended up on the cutting room floor. Whatever the reason - mental health and pregnancy should get more attention.  The sharing of this private story by Meghan highlighted an important fact that mental health issues can crop up at any time - even during pregnancy. Moreover, mental health issues during pregnancy must be taken seriously. “There are several types of mental health conditions that can occur in pregnancy. The most common of these are anxiety and depression,” says licensed clinical Psychologist, Hoorie Siddique.   Siddique goes on to say, “that postpartum depression is known by many people, but less familiar is the fact that women can become significantly depressed during pregnancy itself.” Further, Siddique points out that the leading causes of mental health issues during pregnancy: “Hormonal changes, stress, and anxiety about impending birth and parenthood can lead to a significant level of depression during the prenatal period. Siddique recommends the importance of getting help as soon as the signs of mental health deterioration present in pregnancy.  Why? “The depression may go on past the pregnancy”, she says. If mental health issues persist after birth - this could dramatically affect a mother’s ability to care for her child. Meghan stated that she went to “human resources” within the institution seeking redress. But she was denied the help she needed.

     Last night Meghan once again displayed her lifelong commitment to speaking out on important issues, especially as they relate to women. For example, on another occasion, following her miscarriage, Meghan shared this deeply personal story in a New York Times opinion piece penned by her in November 2020. She had suffered a miscarriage earlier in 2020, but still laid bare, with raw emotion, the trauma of losing a child. She closed the article by presenting a challenge to the reader.  “...let us commit to asking others, “Are they OK?”  With this, I challenge you to lean in and ask a pregnant woman you may know “Are you OK?” This might start the conversation and you just might be the catalyst for someone taking the first steps to heal. And, if you are a pregnant woman in need of help with a mental health issue - please contact your primary care physician to start on the road to getting help - for yourself and your unborn baby.

Depression has a lot of signs. Here’s are the signs to look out for:

Feeling numb

Feeling sad 

Loss of confidence

Irritability 

Sleep problems 

Eating problems 

Feeling isolated 

Difficulty coping and getting through the day

Poor attention and concentration 

Lack of energy and interest in activities

If you or someone you know needs help, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Alternatively, you can use your mobile phone to text HOME to 741-741 for help from the Crisis Text Line.