Meghan Markle Gets Real About Mental Health as a New Mom: ‘Not Many Have Asked if I’m OK’
Meghan Markle, wife of Prince Harry, recently opened up about the difficulties of being a new mom under the intense scrutiny of the media’s spotlight.
“Look, any woman, especially when they’re pregnant, you’re really vulnerable, so that was made really challenging,” she says. “And then when you have a newborn, you know? Especially as a woman, it’s a lot. So you add this on top of trying to be a new mom or trying to be a newlywed.”
ITV News’ Tom Bradby had asked Markle how her emotional and physical health has held up under the pressures she regularly faces as a royal newlywed and mom.
“Also, thank you for asking, because not many people have asked if I’m OK,” she responded. “It’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.”
Watch the video clip below:
“Not many people have asked if I’m ok … it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.”
Meghan reveals to ITV’s @tombradby the intense media spotlight has left her struggling to cope while becoming a mum #HarryAndMeghan https://t.co/Uy21iE6ozJ pic.twitter.com/kZqhZV66OL
— ITV News (@itvnews) October 18, 2019
Markle’s honesty immediately stirred up a wave of support on social media, particularly from other women, with the hashtag #WeLoveYouMeghan.
“Thank you Meghan Markle, for every new mum, for every woman who is expected to always be ok,” wrote Kate Jarman on Twitter. “For every woman who has answered ‘fine’ when asked how they are. For every woman who hasn’t been fine and who hasn’t felt they could tell anyone. Thank you.”
Others viewed the interview as a reminder that mental health is a serious issue: “I love her so much for talking about mental health. No amount of money can keep the brain from convincing you that you aren’t safe. Thank you Meghan Markle for this.”
The topic of mental health has also been trending in Christian circles lately, especially after the shocking suicide of Pastor Jarrid Wilson on Sept. 9.
One Christian mental-health expert, Dr. Fred Antonelli, says the church must become informed on the crucial topic, as many believers are silently suffering.
“We in the church, and particularly we in the ministry, have to start pulling our heads out of the sand and realize that mental health disorders exist everywhere—and that means in the church as well!” he wrote. “What we’re not seeing here and we need to see is that depression can be both situational (just lost my job, my car broke down, they shut my electric off and my dog died) and genetic (mom has depression, so does my brother, granddad, Aunt Lucy and Uncle Bill). The former will get you out of depression as your situation gets better, but the latter won’t change your mood even if things get better for you in life.
“When it comes to someone experiencing genetic depression, you need to be aware of ‘symptom/cause.’ The symptoms are anxiety, apathy, general discontent, guilt, hopelessness, loss of interest or pleasure, mood swings, irritability, isolation, insomnia, fatigue, loss of appetite and possibly thoughts of suicide. The cause is clinical depression brought on by a genetic chemical imbalance in the brain. This kind of depression can also be exacerbated by a number of other factors, like painful family issues growing up, low self-esteem, being bullied, physical/emotional or sexual trauma and so forth.
“… However, God has provided an escape hatch for us through the redemption of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross that provides all that’s required to minimize the reaction of Adam’s passed-down sin. This beautiful and powerful redemption supplies help and hope to be able to forge ahead through this storm called life.” {eoa}
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