The Prince of Wales says there’s a need for more “male role models” to talk about and normalise understanding of men’s mental health.

Prince William appeared on an episode of BBC Radio 1’s Life Hacks on Wednesday (British time), opening up in a panel discussion about mental health and suicide prevention about how he takes a “long time” to understand his emotions.

“We need more male role models out there talking about it and normalising it so that it becomes something that is second nature to all of us,” he said.

“Not one person in this world has all the tools for every eventuality or mental state that [they are] going to come across.

“I like to go around looking for new tools to put in my toolbox when I might need it, and if we look at it like that, it does normalise the idea that the brain just needs sometimes a little bit of help.

“It’s OK to ask for support, ask a mate, reach out.”

During the hour-long episode William also opened up about his own mental health and the importance of learning to love who you are, as well as taking time to understand how you feel.

“I take a long time trying to understand my emotions and why I feel like I do,” he said.

“I think that’s a really important process to just do every now and again, to check in with yourself and work out why you’re feeling like you do. Sometimes there’s an obvious explanation, sometimes there isn’t.

“If we talk about that more and educate people more, then hopefully the idea of suicide gets keeps being pushed further and further away because you know that tomorrow actually you might wake up and you might feel very different.”

Mental health is a cause close to William’s heart. His Royal Foundation is contributing £1 million ($A1.92 million) to develop a national suicide prevention network for Britain.

He has also spoken previously of the strain he felt with the twin diagnoses of his father, the King, and wife Catherine with cancer in early 2024.

The Princess of Wales has been in remission for just over a year while the King’s cancer treatment continues.

The Prince and Princess of Wales with children Prince George, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte.

The prince also recalled a time where he noticed his mental health was deteriorating, while working as a pilot for a British air ambulance service between March 2015 and July 2017, and the importance of taking “stock” of how you are feeling.

“If you listen to the body and have time to process your thoughts and your feelings, it will present itself to you,” he said.

“It’s really important you have those moments where you take stock.

“It wasn’t until I stepped away from it on a sort of longer break that I looked at myself and went, ‘My god, I’m carrying everyone’s emotional baggage’.

“It was really weighing me down.”

The Prince of Wales said the nature of emergency service jobs could take a toll on people because the work was so emotionally and physically demanding.

“It’s not until you step away from it, either that you retire or you have a break – which many of them don’t get long enough breaks – are you able to process what kind of attritional, mental, emotional experiences you’re having each time,” he said.

William said he was “quite emotionally available”, but it sometimes came at a cost.

“It helps me put my own life into perspective but also I carry with me their burden sometimes and that’s the bit I find very difficult is I feel other people’s pain and that overwhelms me sometimes,” he said.

“You want to fix it but you can’t necessarily fix some of the stuff and emotionally I find that very challenging.”

-with AAP