Perhaps more than ever in recent history, discussions about mental health and emotional well-being — long-considered taboo — have come into the public discourse. The devastation caused by the pandemic, including millions of deaths, economic strife and curbs on social interaction, have taken a heavy toll on mental health around the world — and for once, people are talking about it.

The topic is taken up in a new documentary series by Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry, released on May 21 on the Apple TV+ streaming service. 

Titled The Me You Can't See, Winfrey and the Duke of Sussex co-created and produced the program which will feature stories from high-profile guests and others about mental health and emotional well-being. Winfrey said the series aimed to spark a global conversation and replace the shame surrounding mental health with wisdom and compassion.

In the first episode, Prince Harry opens up to Oprah, discussing in detail how his mother Diana's death in 1997 influenced his decision to leave the royal family. He reveals his frustration and disappointment with his father, Prince Charles, accusing him of enabling the suffering he experienced as a child and of never intervening later, when he and his wife, Meghan Markle, were being harassed by the media.

Pandemic deeply affecting mental health

Researchers will certainly still be looking into the long-term effects of the pandemic on mental health in years to come. Some statistics, however, already suggest a grim picture.

A US Census Bureau survey in December 2020 found that 42% of people surveyed reported symptoms of anxiety or depression that month, up from 11% the year prior.

In Germany, recent studies on adolescents, such as one conducted by the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, found one in three children is suffering from pandemic-related anxiety or depression or exhibiting psychosomatic symptoms like headaches or stomach aches, AP reported in February.

From adrenaline rush to hopelessness

Clinical psychologist Linda Blair, Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, warns that the challenges to mental health are far from over — even as many countries in Europe have joined the UK and the US in opening up again.

To understand why, one must go back to the early days of the pandemic in Europe to understand how human beings react to an "unexpected emergency," like the pandemic, as she describes it.

"The first reaction in the face of disaster is to galvanize and come together," Blair told DW, citing the singing and cheering for healthcare workers that occurred around Europe in the early months of the pandemic. "Humans can only effectively survive in groups and in coming together, people felt they would overcome whatever this was."

Yet after a couple of months, "we naturally start to lose the adrenaline and other neuro-hormones that keep us energized and fighting, particularly when the target keeps moving or doesn't take a shape — like a virus," she adds. 

Next came a period of withdrawal, in which people no longer clung to each other or reached out for help, despite needing it — especially due to the need for social distancing — leading to a feeling of hopelessness.

Emotion of the year: languishing

This withdrawal stage, as Blair describes it, was the subject of a recent New York Times article written by American psychologist Adam Grant. In it, he discussed what he called the dominant emotion of 2021: languishing.

As the pandemic has dragged on — especially in Europe — many have felt a sense of stagnation, a joylessness and aimlessness that cannot exactly be described as burn-out or depression, Grant writes. Coined by sociologist Corey Keyes, the term describes those who are not depressed, but not flourishing either. "It appears to be more common than major depression — and in some ways, it may be a bigger risk factor for mental illness," states the New York Times article.

Expect more cases of post-traumatic stress disorder

After a long period of "languishing," lower infection rates and better weather are a sign of encouragement for many, especially in northern Europe, yet it's not time to sweep what we've been through under the carpet, says Blair.

"Now slowly the mental health effects are really coming to the fore and only in the next six to eight months are we going to start seeing the PTSD and the depression and chronic anxiety that were seeded," points out the psychologist.

For many, the pandemic has been a wake-up call — a reminder that life doesn't come with a guarantee and is subject to change at a moment's notice.

It has increased the popularity of mindfulness practices, which encourage practitioners to let go of a tendency to control and focus on the present — yet it has also induced fear and anxiety. "This fear of being able to trust the future is much bigger than the anxieties we had about getting COVID," adds Blair.

Celebrity intervention

In the new series, Prince Harry and Winfrey join 14 mental health professionals and institutions in discussions that hope to shed light on "different pathways to treatment."

Big-name guests, including Lady Gaga, actor Glenn Close and San Antonio Spurs' basketball player DeMar DeRozan, will help drive the message home.

"The majority of us carry some form of unresolved trauma, loss, or grief, which feels — and is — very personal," Harry said in a statement.

"Yet the last year has shown us that we are all in this together, and my hope is that this series will show there is power in vulnerability, connection in empathy, and strength in honesty," he continued.

Various media projects for Prince Harry and Meghan

The program will be one of the first projects Prince Harry has taken on since he and his wife Meghan announced last year they would renounce their duties as members of the British royal family. The pair have since signed deals to make documentaries with Netflix and podcasts with Spotify, among other endeavors.

In early March, the couple gave an exclusive TV interview to Oprah Winfrey which attracted a whopping 17.1 million viewers, according to CBS — twice the size of the average viewership for a weekly ratings winner, the New York Times reported. Cynics might wonder if this new venture can be more than a headline grabber.

Whether a program with celebrity backing can help change the status quo when it comes to mental health is heavily dependent on its content, says Blair, who adds: "Raising awareness is great, but if you look at issues like Black Lives Matter, like women's rights, keeping them in people's attention isn't enough. TV is a medium designed for short attention spans and entertainment, not action."

"If it's not accompanied with fundraising campaigns, people going into schools and encouraging kids to take up careers in mental health so we have enough professionals," says the psychology expert, "then this is just another celebrity fun thing — a story that relaxes us in the evening."