The Princess of Wales pledges support to those suffering from addiction with heartfelt message
The Princess of Wales pledged her support to those suffering from addiction, with a heartfelt speech this weekend (30 October).
To mark Addiction Awareness Week (30 October to 6 November) the Princess delivered a moving message in which she said that “the shame of addiction is stopping people and families asking for help.”
However, Kate said that, “attitudes to addiction are changing,” and stressed the need to “empathise” and have “compassion”.
"We as a society need to recognise that the only way to help those suffering is to try and understand what has led to addiction," she said.
A video of her message was shared to the official Prince and Princess of Wales’ Instagram account and, in a caption, Kate said that she wanted to "offer a message of support to those who are continuing to suffer. I know this was not a choice. Recovery is possible.” The full video is available on the Action Addiction Youtube Channel.
The Princess of Wales is a patron of Action Addiction and delivered another poignant speech last year to mark a new campaign. In it, Kate said, “addiction is not a choice. No-one choose to be an addict. It can happen to any of us. None of us are immune.”
Kate went on to emphasise the importance of discussing addiction, “as a mental health condition”, adding that, “seldom do we take the time to uncover and fully understand its fundamental root causes.”
She said that, “by recognising what lies beneath addiction we can help remove the stigma and shame that sadly surrounds it” and that, “as a society, we need to start from a position of compassion and empathy.”
Over the past decade, Kate revealed she had met many “incredible people who have lived through the harsh realities of addiction” and said that it is possible to not only recover from addiction, but to go on to prosper with the right support.
You can find further information and support around addiction on the Action Addiction website.
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