>
Prince Harry shares struggles to be his ‘true authentic self’ growing up, saying he felt pressures to ‘go back to being what he was expected to be’, but now he feels ‘incredibly free’
The Duke of Sussex told trauma expert Gabor Maté about his struggles to be his ‘true authentic self’ growing up, saying he felt the pressure to ‘go back to what he was expected to be’ but now feels ‘incredibly free’.
During her conversation with the ‘toxic trauma’ therapist, she said: ‘The times I ventured out to be my true authentic self…it was almost like ‘don’t be yourself.’ Go back to what you are expected to be.
Today’s event is to see the couple talk about the importance of ‘self-healing’.
Dr. Maté cited a section of Harry’s book in which he described his frustration that no one in his family wanted to “break free and live,” and asked him if he felt he had been able to do so.
Harry answered yes, saying that he felt “a great weight on my shoulders” after leaving the Royal Family.
The Duke of Sussex told trauma expert Gabor Maté about his struggles to be his “authentic, true self” growing up, saying he felt the pressure to “go back to what he’s expected to be” but now it feels ” unbelievably free.”
Asked by Dr. Maté if he saw himself as a victim, Harry said, “Certainly not.”
Dr. Maté said, ‘You’re working hard to become more aware…but the more you did, the further away you got from your own family.’
Harry said: “A lot of families are complicated, a lot of families are dysfunctional, but for me, when I was doing therapy regularly… I felt like I learned a new language.”
He added that other members of his family “didn’t speak that language.”
Speaking about his time in therapy, the prince said he told his therapist: “This is working for me and I’m starting to come back to the point of trauma and unpack everything so I can be truly happy…but at the same time I feel every increasingly distant from my loved ones and my family’.
Harry said his therapist responded: “This is what happens to a lot of people.”
Dr. Mate said: “Ideally, I shouldn’t have to face that choice, but a lot of people have to make a choice: am I going to be myself or am I going to… please others.”
Meanwhile, Harry also said: “I don’t see myself as the victim” after revealing that he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder following the death of Princess Diana during the live Q&A broadcast.
Asked by Dr. Maté if he saw himself as a victim, Harry said, “Certainly not.”
In today’s conversation, Harry said he felt “a huge weight off his shoulders” after leaving the Royal Family.