The Duchess of Cambridge's younger brother James Middleton has spoken out about experiencing loneliness in a rare Instagram post. The 31-year-old uploaded a photo of himself and his pet dog in the snow during a skiing holiday, and wrote: "I've been in that angst of loneliness, where you're really alone in the universe. Luckily for me I had my dogs." Followers were quick to comment on the post, with one writing: "You're never alone, and yes, dogs are the best," while another said: "So glad that you had the sweet, unconditional love of your dear companion animals." A third added: "We're never alone when we have our fur babies."
James Middleton praised his dogs for helping him through tough times
James recently opened up about his long battle with clinical depression, and thoughtfully made sure to support his eldest sister, Kate. Instead of accepting payment for the piece, he decided to instead ask for donations to two charities - one of which is Heads Together, the mental health cause Kate founded with husband Prince William and brother-in-law Prince Harry. A note at the end of the piece reads: "No fee has been paid for this article. At James’ request a donation has been made to Pets As Therapy and Heads Together." Choosing Pets As Therapy nods to the businessman's love of animals. James is a proud dog owner, and often shares sweet photos of his four-legged companions on his Instagram account.
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James has recently spoken out about his depression
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During his lengthy article about depression, which was posted in the Daily Mail in January, James wrote: "I couldn’t communicate, even with those I loved best: my family and close friends. Their anxious texts grew more insistent by the day, yet they went unanswered as I sank progressively deeper into a morass of despair." He added that he had come forward to speak about his experience with mental illness in the Heads Together campaign. He explained: "I feel compelled to talk about it openly because this is precisely what my brother-in-law Prince William, my sister Catherine and Prince Harry are advocating through their mental health charity Heads Together."
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