On Saturday, Prince Harry sat down with Dr. Gabor Maté to debate his popular memoir Spare, discussing the book’s themes around trauma and healing. The book covers many features of Harry’s life, which included the lack of his mother Princess Diana at a young age, an especially public youth and young maturity, alienation from his brother, and the harassment of his wife, Meghan Markle. The Duke of Sussex has rather a lot to speak about.
Of their discussion, Dr. Maté suggested that the Duke is likely to be combating plenty of disorders including ADD, PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Harry has been very open about his experiences with therapy and is encouraging of mental health treatment. He admitted of their talk that his personal therapist had diagnosed him with PTSD, at the very least. He connected the diagnosis to past drug use, saying cocaine did nothing for him, but marijuana “really helped” him mentally.
“Marijuana is different, that truly really did help me,” he explained.
Nonetheless, the largest help along with his healing journey has come from his wife.
“My wife saved me, I used to be stuck on this world and he or she was from a special world and helped draw me out of that,” Harry told Dr. Maté, before adding, “But not one of the elements of my life now would not be possible without me seeing it for myself. You’ve gotten got to begin with change inside yourself.”
Still, he continued to say, “My partner is an exceptional human being and I’m eternally grateful [for her].”
Through the conversation, he also talked more specifically about how he received little or no physical affection as a toddler, and the way this has modified his relationship to his two children, Archie and Lilibet.
“It leaves me within the position of a father having two children attempting to smother them with love,” Harry admitted. “I feel an enormous responsibility to not pass on any trauma or negative experiences that I’ve had as a child or as a person growing up…. There are occasions after I catch myself after I should smothering them with that love but I may not be.”
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will likely be released by Dial Press in February 2022.
