When you're isolated and cut off from coping mechanisms, as Markle said she was, one way out of that depressive spiral is to ask for help, Gaylor said. Markle said she did so, going to "the institution" (the group of officials that works for and around the royal family) as well as the palace's HR department, only to be turned away both times. Gaylor put the impact of that denial in context.
There's a stigma that it's weak to ask for help for your mental health, "but actually, it takes so much courage," she said. "The hero in any story is the person who has the courage to ask for help." Usually, by the time someone reaches out for help, they've thought about it over and over, debating whether they should, convincing themselves they shouldn't, before mustering up "every ounce of emotional fortitude" to take that step. "So imagine how it feels," Gaylor said, to be misunderstood, faced with a lack of resources, or flat-out denied that help.
All of that can make the dark tunnel feel endless, and make ending her life feel like the only option; Markle said she thought it would "solve everything for everyone." That doesn't mean she didn't love her husband or her unborn child, Gaylor said. It just meant that right then, "things felt so dark that she could only see that tunnel."