Prince William Reveals That Becoming A Father Had A Major Effect On His Mental Health

Prince William has opened up about fatherhood in a way that no other royal has ever done before, claiming that being a parent had a “major effect” on him.

According to a story published by Entertainment Tonight, the 36-year-old Duke of Cambridge discussed mental health on November 20 during a scheduled appearance at the This Can Happen conference in London.

There, he spoke about his time as an air ambulance pilot, which he did both before and after he and his wife Kate Middleton welcomed their three children — Prince George, 5, Princess Charlotte, 3, and Prince Louis, 6 months.

The prince remarked that his job affected him “too much.”

His outlook on parenthood changed once he became a father and “worked several times on traumatic jobs involving children.”

“The relation between the job and the personal life was what really took me over the edge,” he remarked. “And I started feeling things that I’ve never felt before. And I got very sad and very down about this particular family.”

As with others who work in these types of high-pressure jobs that involve traumatic events, Prince William explained it became “hard” not to take his work home with him.

“You start to take away bits of the job and keep them in your body. And of course, you don’t want to share with your loved ones because you just don’t want to bring that sort of stuff home,” he sadly revealed.

The prince also remarked that unfortunately, many people who experience these traumatic events can only discuss them at work, amongst others who have also experienced the same types of situations. He noted that at work, although others can listen and sympathize with your plight, you don’t necessarily have the right tools or the right environment to deal with the aftereffects. Therefore, he said, things can “snowball” and become even more challenging to deal with.

Prince William, his wife Kate Middleton, brother Prince Harry, and now Harry’s wife Meghan Markle have made issues regarding mental health the focus of their social work for the last several years.

William, Middleton, and Harry created the Heads Together initiative to help shoot down the stigmas surrounding mental health awareness and treatment.

The prince also revealed that he was pleased that military organizations around the world were beginning to take steps to incorporate mental health into their training to deal with the pressure and stress that comes with their jobs.