Harry: Ages 28 to 32 Were a 'Nightmare Period'

He says he turned to drugs, alcohol to dull the pain of his mom's death
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 21, 2021 8:10 AM CDT
Harry: I Used Drugs, Alcohol to Dull Pain of Mom's Death
In this image provided by Apple, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, appears in a scene from "The Me You Can't See."   (Apple via AP)

Prince Harry is continuing to open up about his mental health in a way not seen from any royal since his mother, Princess Diana. In new Apple TV+ series The Me You Can't See, which he co-created with Oprah Winfrey, the prince discusses the trauma of Diana's death in a car crash in 1997, when he was 12 years old, the Guardian reports. He tells Winfrey that in the famous images of him walking with other family members behind his mother's coffin at her funeral, it was "like I was outside of my body and just walking along doing what was expected of me." He says the family never discussed Diana's death and he tried not to think about it but in later years, he turned to drugs and alcohol to dull the pain, reports USA Today.

He says he experienced severe anxiety from ages 28 to 32, which he called a "nightmare" period. "I was willing to drink, I was willing to take drugs, I was willing to try and do the things that made me feel less like I was feeling." Harry says that after Meghan Markle suggested he try therapy, he realized it was essential for his own well-being and that of their relationship. "When she said, 'I think you need to see someone,' it was in reaction to an argument that we had," Harry explained. "And in that argument, not knowing about it, I reverted back to 12-year-old Harry." Variety reports that the first three episodes of the series are structured around the search for help and track Harry's own progress through recognizing the need for help, asking for it, and finding a method that works. He tells Winfrey that EMDR therapy has helped him deal with the feelings associated with his mother's death that return every time he flies into London. (More Prince Harry stories.)

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