James Middleton.Photo: James Middleton/Instagram
James Middletoncontinues to be candid abouthis battle with depression.
In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Middleton, 31, shared a snowy selfie in the mountains alongside one of his beloved dogs. He captioned the picture, “I’ve been in that angst of loneliness, where you’re really alone in the universe. Luckily for me I had my dogs 🐾🐾”
Kate Middleton‘s brother first opened up about his mental health struggle in January, when he penned a searingop-edforThe Daily Mailrevealing that he had sought treatment for depression a little more than a year ago.
“Debilitating inertia gripped me. I couldn’t respond to the simplest message so I didn’t open my emails.”
RELATED ARTICLE: Kate Middleton’s Brother James Makes His Instagram Public — Meet Her Dapper, Animal Loving Sibling!
“I couldn’t communicate, even with those I loved best: my family and close friends,” he continued.
James Middleton.James Middleton Instagram
“I know I’m richly blessed and live a privileged life. But it did not make me immune to depression. It is tricky to describe the condition. It is not merely sadness. It is an illness, a cancer of the mind.”
Middleton went on to explain that he felt completely alone in his feelings and even contemplated suicide.
However, after months of suffering, he said he decided to do something. “I packed my dogs into my car and, telling no one where I was going, drove to a wild part of the Lake District I’ve loved since I was a child.”
Pippa, James and Kate Middleton in 2016.Samir Hussein/WireImage
An avid animal lover, he thanked his dogs for helping him. “I recognize, too, the role my dogs — Ella, Inca, Luna, Zulu and Mabel — have played in my recovery.”
Middleton said he spoke out in hopes of reducing the stigma associated with mental illness.
In addition, James felt compelled to follow the lead of his sister Kate, brother-in-lawPrince WilliamandPrince Harry, who have beenstrong advocatesfor mental health.
“They believe we can only tackle the stigma associated with mental illness if we have the courage to change the national conversation, to expel its negative associations.”
source: people.com
