Speaking in his Heart of Invictus Netflix series, the Duke of Sussex said ‘no one around me could really help’.

The Duke of Sussex has opened up about the challenges he faced after returning from his tour of Afghanistan, revealing the “unravelling” that triggered the trauma of losing his mother at the age of 12. In his Heart of Invictus docuseries, which was released on Netflix on Wednesday, Prince Harry shared that his biggest struggle during that time was the lack of available support. He expressed, “no one around me could really help.”

Prince Harry emphasized the absence of a support structure, network, or expert advice to help him understand what was happening to him. He stated, “I didn’t have that support structure, that network or that expert advice to identify actually what was going on with me.” He also acknowledged that therapy often becomes a consideration only after reaching a breaking point, saying, “Unfortunately, like most of us the first time you really consider therapy is when you are lying on the floor in the foetal position probably wishing you had dealt with some of this stuff previously.”

One of the major issues the Duke of Sussex highlighted was the notion that mental illness was considered a “dirty word” when he first joined the military. He expressed his desire to combat and eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health in society. Prince Harry shared, “Look, I can only speak for my personal experience, my tour of Afghanistan in 2012 flying Apaches, somewhere after that there was an unravelling and the trigger for me was actually returning from Afghanistan. But the stuff that was coming up was from 1997, from the age of 12, losing my mom at such a young age, the trauma that I had I was never really aware of, it was never discussed, I didn’t really talk about it – and I suppressed it like most youngsters would have done but when it all came fizzing out I was bouncing off the walls, I was like what is going on here, I am now feeling everything as opposed to being numb.”

The Heart of Invictus docuseries, a five-part project that took over two years to create, follows Invictus competitors from around the world as they prepare for the tournament founded by Prince Harry. During a special screening in California, Prince Harry surprised the audience by introducing the series and discussing the sacrifices made by veterans and their families while serving their countries. In the opening episode, he described himself as “Harry, a dad of two, .. couple of dogs, husband” and emphasized the importance of the Invictus Games.