One of the big issues shaping Prince Harry’s life is mental health. In recent years, the ex-royal has spoken in various interviews and publications about coping with his own trauma. Over the weekend, Harry met virtually with trauma expert Dr. Gabor Maté and told about his fight against mental problems in a 90-minute live stream.
In addition to his wife, psychedelics also played an important role in dealing with it, he revealed. They would have given him “a feeling of relaxation, relief, comfort” and “a lightness”. “I started doing it as a hobby and then I realized how good it was for me,” explained Prince Harry, taking it a step further: “I would say they are one of the fundamental parts of my life that has changed me and helped me deal with the trauma and pain of the past. They bring out so much of what we have been suppressing,” said Harry.
Harry’s confession doesn’t go down well with everyone. Fiona Spargo-Mabbs, who does drug education on behalf of her son who died of an overdose, told the Daily Mail Harry’s statements could have negative consequences for young people. “We work with young people under the age of 18 and our concern is that this could send a message that leads young people to believe that drugs help them with really difficult problems,” she said. “Unfortunately, young people are getting the message from somewhere that drugs are helping them with their problems, and anything that adds to that is a cause for concern for us,” she said.
Psychedelics for the treatment of mental health problems are by no means a new phenomenon. There has been a lively debate on this in medicine for several years. For example, Anne Philippi’s startup “The New Health Club” aims to normalize the use of psychedelics in treatment. (In the star she explained why. You can read more about this here.) Both the Central Institute for Mental Health and the Charité in Berlin are researching in this field, and psychedelics are already being used in treatment at both institutions.
But there are also dissenting voices. Psychoanalyst Wolfgang Schmidbauer is critical of the medical use of psychedelics. “Therapy is about learning, not a spiritual experience,” he told Stern in the past. “It’s about developing new insights and behavior in small steps, which has a lot to do with discipline. Hallucinogens, on the other hand, release intoxicating experiences from which people expect all sorts of things. In the history of psychotherapy, this has always been seen as illusion proven.”
In his virtual interview, Prince Harry explained that an argument with his wife Meghan was the reason why he started therapy. He was afraid of losing her if he didn’t get help. Meghan saved him, revealed the prince.
Sources: Interview Dr. Gabor Maté via “Page Six” / “Daily Mail” / stern / Central Institute for Mental Health
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