Speaking to young reporters for the US-based Teenager Therapy podcast, the Duke of Sussex said “meditation was key” to handling negativity. He noted the act of meditating was something he “never thought I’d be the person to do”.
However, he told Teenage Therapy: “The importance of creating the time in your day to take a breath and focus on the things that really matter, that builds up a certain amount of resilience.”
Harry also said he had made a personal choice to avoid reading overly negative material and compared time spent online to the nutritional value of food.
The Prince added: “Just as much as we worry about, be concerned, and take notice of what we put in our bellies as a diet, the same applies for our eyes and our mind, what we’re consuming is affecting us.”
Yesterday was World Mental Health Day – an annual event recognised by the World Health Organisation.
It is not the first time the Duke has spoken out about the digital world. In an essay for business magazine Fast Company in August, he spoke of “a crisis of hate, a crisis of health, and a crisis of truth”.
Only last month, the Duke sat alongside Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, to warn against “misinformation and online negativity” in the run-up to the US election in November.
READ: Doctors in A&E miss a third of serious mental health problems
Meghan told Teenager Therapy: “I’m told that in 2019, I was the most trolled person in the entire world, male or female.
“Now for eight months of that, I wasn’t even visible. I was on maternity leave or with a baby.
“But what was able to be manufactured and churned out, it’s almost unsurvivable. That’s so big you can’t even think of what that feels like.”
The Duchess suggested throughout this time there was a lack of people asking whether she was okay.
Meghan recalled an emotional television interview with ITV that same year, in which she spoke of negative press reports in the British media. She said: “Not many people have asked if I’m okay.
“But it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.”
Asked by Teenager Therapy how she was going now, the Duchess said her and Prince Harry “certainly can’t complain”.
Meghan added: “A year later, I would say yes I am doing well and the past few months have been layered for everyone.”
Harry and Meghan are currently living in the Californian region of Santa Barbara.
They signed a Netflix deal earlier this year which will see them producing shows for the video streaming platform.
