Overview
- Harry disclosed the experience in a MasterClass lesson with neuroscientist Dr. Mary‑Frances O’Connor released for World Mental Health Day, prompting fresh media coverage of his mental health.
- He said that after he and Meghan left palace life and moved to Canada he experienced an adrenaline collapse and "fell into a depression" that lasted about two weeks.
- Harry linked the breakdown to decades of unresolved grief over his mother Princess Diana, saying he felt guilty at the thought of being happy and had long suppressed his emotions.
- He described panic attacks during official duties and years of adrenaline-driven coping from military service and royal pressures before therapy provided relief.
- A therapist-led breakthrough, including buying Diana’s perfume, released previously locked emotions and led Harry to conclude his mother would have wanted him to be happy, a point that changes how he frames his post‑royal life.