Kate Middleton's younger brother, James Middleton is speaking candidly about his struggle with depression, publishing a personal essay through the Daily Mail.
"I know I'm richly blessed and live a privileged life. But it did not make me immune to depression," James wrote. "It is tricky to describe the condition. It is not merely sadness. It is an illness, a cancer of the mind."
He continued,"It's not a feeling but an absence of feelings. You exist without purpose or direction. I couldn't feel joy, excitement, or anticipation–only heart-thudding anxiety propelled me out of bed in the morning. I didn't actually contemplate suicide-but I didn't want to live in the state of mind I was in either."
Along with the personal description of what appears to be a longtime struggle, James also recently made his Instagram account public for the first time, where he has revealed personal details about living with depression. On December 31 he reflected on 2018 with a post about an animal he's worked with that just earned its PAT certification:
"Proud of Ella becoming a PAT dog this year. Animals can provide a sense of calm, comfort, or safety and divert attention away from a stressful situation and toward one that provides pleasure," James captioned the post. "Advocates of animal-assisted therapy say that developing a bond with an animal can help people develop a better sense of self-worth and trust, stabilize their emotions, and improve their communication, self-regulation, and socialisation skills. I am a huge believer in this & Ella has done so much for me and we look forward to sharing the love, Timmy tickles and many visits in 2019 @petsastherapy_uk."
Big sister Kate is apparently a driving force in James opening up about his emotional hardships.
"I feel compelled to talk about it openly because this is precisely what my brother-in-law Prince William, my sister Catherine and Prince Harry are advocating through their mental health charity Heads Together," James explained. It's nice to see that he and Kate clearly lean on one another.
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