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Mental Health Awareness Week: Message from Prince William and Kate Middleton is broadcast nationwide at 10.59am

Broadcast of radio message marks ‘the first time’ that all commercial, community, national BBC and local BBC stations have united

Monday 18 May 2020 11:35 BST

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Prince William and Kate Middleton broadcast message for Mental Health Awareness Week

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have recorded a special radio message in honour of Mental Health Awareness Week, which takes place from Monday 18 May to Sunday 24 May.

The royals have recorded their radio message as part of the Mental Health Minute campaign alongside several other high profile individuals, including footballer Harry Kane, singer Dua Lipa, actor David Tennant and boxer Anthony Joshua.

Produced by Radiocentre and Heads Together, the Mental Health Minute was broadcast on Monday 18 May at 10.59am across all radio stations.

It marked the first time that all commercial, community, national BBC and local BBC stations have united to air a message at the same time, the press release states.

During the broadcast, Prince William spoke about the positive impact being open about your mental health can have.

“We’re all connected. And sometimes just talking about how you’re feeling can make a big difference,” the duke says in the recording.

“So right now, let’s join together across the UK and reach out to someone.”

The Duchess of Cambridge states that “if you’re struggling, it’s important to talk about it”.

“Or if someone you know is acting differently, it’s OK to ask how they are,” Catherine says. “Use this moment to send a message.”

Heads Together is a mental health initiative that was first launched by Prince William, Catherine and Prince Harry in 2016.

Today’s Mental Health Minute coincides with the launch of “Heads Together Wellbeing Guides”, a new global feature on Instagram.

16 male celebrities who have spoken about mental health

Show all 16

1/1616 male celebrities who have spoken about mental health

16 male celebrities who have spoken about mental health

Stormzy

Stormzy told Channel 4 in 2017 that by opening up about his depression he hoped to help others. "I think for them to see I went through it would help," the BRIT-award-winning musician said. "For a long time I used to think that soldiers don’t go through that. You know? Like, strong people in life, the bravest, the most courageous people, they don’t go through that, they just get on with it...and that’s not the case."

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16 male celebrities who have spoken about mental health

Robert Pattinson

Twilight star Robert Pattinson told The Telegraph he struggled with depression for a period of time. “'I had a bit of a struggle at first because my life really contracted and I couldn't do a lot of the stuff I used to be able to do." He advised aspiring Hollywood actors to "take care" of your mental health. "If you get as famous as quickly as I did, your personal growth stops suddenly.”

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16 male celebrities who have spoken about mental health

Michael Phelps

Former American swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history, experienced periods of depression and suicidal feelings. He told Today in 2018: "After years and years and years of just shoving every negative, bad feeling down to the point where I mean, I just didn't even feel it anymore...and for me, that sent me down a spiral staircase real quick and like I said, I found myself in a spot where I didn't want to be alive anymore."

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16 male celebrities who have spoken about mental health

Zayn Malik

Zayn Malik told The Sunday Times Style magazine about suffering with an eating disorder and anxiety. "We’re all human. People are often afraid to admit difficulties, but I don’t believe that there should be a struggle with anything that’s the truth," said the former One Direction singer. "If you were a guy, you used to have to be really masculine, but now expressing emotion is accepted and respected.’

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16 male celebrities who have spoken about mental health

Will Young

Singer Will Young has spoken about his experience with suicidal thoughts. "There's a part of my brain that is telling me that you're about to die, [so] you either shut down, freeze or you run. The only thing I can do is go to bed." He said that without the help of his therapist he probably would have been successful in his suicide attempts. “I have so many mental thoughts in my head: ‘You’re never going to sing again’. ‘That was a s*** dance move.’ ‘They’re hating you.’”

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16 male celebrities who have spoken about mental health

Professor Green

After his father took his own life in 2008, rapper Professor Green started speaking openly about his mental health problems and the pressure on men to be strong. “We have to figure out a way that men can talk to one another and figure out how to make themselves feel better,” he told theiNews. Although he is pleased to "start conversations" Green warns how becoming a mental health spokesperson can be high pressure. “It’s difficult because sometimes you’re having a great day, then someone comes up and tells you something absolutely horrific; I’m not a psychologist and it’s really hard."

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16 male celebrities who have spoken about mental health

Donald Glover

American actor, comedian, writer and musician Donald Glover, who performs under the name Childish Gambino told Vice in 2013 he'd been through periods of depression following the end of his tour. "I was just super depressed. I mean, I tried to kill myself. I was really fucked up after that [tour], because I had this girl that I thought I was going to marry and we broke up. I didn’t feel like I knew what I was doing. I wasn’t living up to my standard, I was living up to other people’s standards, and I just said ‘I don’t see the point'.”

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16 male celebrities who have spoken about mental health

Shawn Mendes

Shawn Mendes told People magazine that talking about his mental health problems was the "scariest" thing he's ever done. "I still struggle with it but just remember every day that everyone deals with some level of anxiety or pressure; we're all in it together." He told The Sun in 2018: "All pain is temporary, and the thing is with anxiety, and why it's such a hard thing for people who don't have it to understand."

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16 male celebrities who have spoken about mental health

Jim Carrey

Comedian and actor Jim Carrey told iNews that he had struggled with depression throughout his life. “At this point, I don’t have depression. I had that for years, but now, when the rain comes, it rains, but it doesn’t stay. It doesn’t stay long enough to immerse me and drown me anymore.”

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16 male celebrities who have spoken about mental health

Pete Wentz

Fall Out Boy frontman Pete Wentz has spoken openly about his bipolar disorder diagnosis and other mental health problems. He said that it took him to reach breaking point before asking for help. "My best piece of advice, more than anything, is that there's other people out there that feel [suicidal], or are feeling that right at that time," he said. "Maybe your favorite actor, or a guy in a band, or whoever, there are people who feel that exact same thing and have made it through that. I would say more than anything, you're not alone in it."

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16 male celebrities who have spoken about mental health

Jon Hamm

"I struggled with chronic depression," Mad Men star Jon Hamm told The Guardian in 2010. "I did do therapy and antidepressants for a brief period, which helped me." Hamm said medication helped change his "brain chemistry" enough so he could get out of bed. "I don't want to sleep until four in the afternoon. I want to get up and go do my shit and go to work," he says.

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16 male celebrities who have spoken about mental health

Rob Delaney

Catastrophe actor and comedian Rob Delaney, who lost his son Henry to brain cancer in January 2018, said he has long struggled with depression and encouraged others in the same position to seek help. "Asking for help is strong because it leads directly to staying alive," he says. "Not asking for help is as fear-based a decision as a human being can make and can lead you swiftly in a bad direction. It's not exaggerating to say that path can end in death."

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16 male celebrities who have spoken about mental health

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson

Dwayne Johnson has spoken on numerous occasions about mental health. On ITV's Lorraine Kelly he said: "Depression doesn't discriminate, and I thought that was an important part of the narrative if I was going to share a little bit of my story of the past. Regardless of who you are or what you do for a living or where you come from, it doesn't discriminate, we all kind of go through it. If I could share a little bit of it and if I could help somebody, I'm happy to do it."

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16 male celebrities who have spoken about mental health

Ryan Reynolds

"I have anxiety, I've always had anxiety," the Deadpool actor told the New York Times in 2018. "Both in the lighthearted ‘I’m anxious about this’ kind of thing, and I’ve been to the depths of the darker end of the spectrum, which is not fun.” Reynolds said he went through a period of partying to try and make himself "vanish" in some way and would frequently suffer with anxiety-related insomnia.

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16 male celebrities who have spoken about mental health

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce 'The Boss' Springsteen told Esquire magazine in 2018 that although he wouldn't describe himself as being mentally unwell, he has "come close enough" and takes medication to cope. "I’m on a variety of medications that keep me on an even keel; otherwise I can swing rather dramatically and the wheels can come off a little bit.”

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16 male celebrities who have spoken about mental health

Prince Harry

Prince Harry has been a vocal supporter of mental health campaigns like 'Time To Talk'. He also has spoken openly about his own problems following the death of his mother, Princess Diana. He told The Telegraph: “I have probably been very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions when all sorts of grief and sort of lies and misconceptions and everything are coming to you from every angle." Harry said there was "huge merit" in talking about your issues and keeping quiet only makes things worse.

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Launching on the afternoon of Monday 18 May, the feature allows users to discover curated recommendations from individuals and organisations who they follow or admire on the social media platform.

In light of the coronavirus pandemic, the first Instagram Guides will centre on mental health and wellbeing.

Each of the Instagram Guides in the UK will be curated by Heads Together, including posts from a variety of charity partners, influencers and supporters.

The three UK guides being launched today will feature “A Guide to Talking”, “A Guide to Self-Care” and a “Guide to Kindness”.

Siobhan Kenny, chief executive of Radiocentre, said “it is so apt in this most extraordinary of times that the entire radio industry is united behind the Mental Health Minute”.

Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, added that the social media platform hopes its collaboration with Heads Together on its new Guides tool “will further open up the conversation around mental health and give people ways to discover wellbeing tips and recommendations from people they trust, admire and follow”.

Prince William and Catherine recently commemorated the one-year anniversary of Shout85258, the UK’s first 24/7 crisis text line.

Shout, which operates through the work of more than 1,800 trained volunteers, was launched in May 2019 by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex following a £3m investment by The Royal Foundation.

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