Prince Harry: ‘Mental fitness’ is important for war veterans

Prince Harry has urged military veterans to work on their "mental fitness".
The 32-year-old royal – who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan before leaving the Army – visited a Help for Heroes recovery centre at Tedworth House in Wiltshire on Monday (23.01.17) and spoke to wounded servicemen and women about the importance of strengthening both mental and physical fitness.
He said: "Getting back your mental as well as your physical fitness is a really important thing.
"One of the biggest struggles is accepting that there is a problem in the first place."
The recovery centre also runs Tedworth’s Hidden Wounds psychological and wellbeing service which aims to help those suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as depression, stress, anger, anxiety, and early stage alcohol issues often connected with leaving the military service.
During his visit, Prince Harry – who previously hinted that he himself suffers from flashbacks to his time in the service – met with Mike Day, 34, a former sniper section commander whose back was broken when he was hit by a grenade in Afghanistan in 2009.
Prince Harry spoke to Mike about his experiences, who said the hardest part was "accepting" what had happened.
Mike told the royal: "To be honest the most difficult thing was accepting that I would never get back the person I was before.
"I was at the height of my career and knowing that I could never do that job again was a big shock, it still is.
"This place, just doing the woodwork and carving is so therapeutic. There is no one telling us what to do, it’s just us working as a team. I come up here once a month for four days and this place always brings out the best in me."
Prince Harry then reassured the veteran, saying it was "remarkable" what he had achieved despite his injuries.
He said: "Getting back your mental health, mental wellbeing, your mental fitness is a really important thing. Rather than operating at fifty or sixty per cent you can operate at eighty or ninety percent and be a better person. Look at what you have achieved with this. It is remarkable. I thought I was good at carpentry, but clearly I’m not."