DR MAX PEMBERTON: The real reason Meghan plays the victim

Poor Meghan. That’s what we should say, isn’t it? Back in the UK this week, wondering which condolence card she’ll play next. After all, every interview she gives is all about the mantra ‘woe is me’.

Grab your pearls of ethical origin and reach for the tissues as she sits in her multimillion pound home surrounded by staff and security. How does she get through the day?

In all seriousness, I wonder if she can really believe that it has hit her so hard and that the average person on the street would have any sympathy?

Can she really be so isolated from the plight of ordinary people that she doesn’t think she comes across as phenomenally insensitive and self-obsessed?

I’m sure she’s had difficulties in her life, just like everyone else. I have no doubt that getting married to the royal family was a big culture shock, especially if you thought it usually involved swaying through a palace and donning fancy dresses for movie premieres, when the reality is more about cutting ribbons at a new sewage treatment plant in Stevenage.

But most people would keep this to themselves. By most people’s standards, it’s not trauma. The terrible truth is that Harry really did have trauma; Losing your mother at such a young age is terrible.

So why does Meghan “constantly look back on how awful it was to be a royal for a short time,” as a source who knows the Sussexes was quoted as saying this weekend?

It doesn’t help anyone to be a prisoner of their past. That’s not to say we should just sweep under the rug what happened to us. Far from. But there comes a point where if you don’t learn to move on, it starts to define you.

At some point you have to let go of the past, or at least build on it to keep it from fester and consuming you.

But with Meghan, I think there’s something profound going on here, something I’ve seen in some of my patients.

A few years ago I worked for a charity and to fund this I worked a few days a week in a private clinic. Many of my patients were dazzlingly wealthy, and some even flew in their private jets before the appointment.

They had a life of unparalleled privileges. But as I spoke to them, there were some who seemed to feel reviled and hurt, belittled and upset. They were extremely sensitive and went out of their way to portray themselves as a victim on almost every opportunity they had.

It was quite bizarre and in stark contrast to the poor disenfranchised patients I saw at the charity, who just seemed to accept their fate, give their best and just carry on.

It took me a while to realize that it was their privilege and the pressure that came with it that made those rich patients so quick to play the victim card.

They had great privilege, but unless they also achieved great things, they would always be considered a failure. Perversely, their privilege was like a millstone around their necks.

The problem was that no one had any sympathy for this. I wish people in their twenties and thirties, children of the rich and famous, tried to convince me that they were one of life’s victims, instead of being given a golden ticket – with no real merit or own talent – that few could have imagined.

They had a toxic, harmful combination of self-righteousness and exaggerated self-esteem that resulted in a bitterness and bewilderment that things didn’t always go as planned.

Instead of sucking this up as life, they used this as proof that they were the real victims. And the most important thing I realized was that the sense of victimhood was a perfect way to rid oneself of life’s problems.

It meant they always had a ready-made excuse as to why things went wrong, or that things didn’t go the way they wanted. It was always someone else’s fault; there was always someone else to blame.

Of course, no matter how rich, privileged and well-connected you are, life can be an uphill battle at times.

But getting some perspective on things and realizing that this is part of the tapestry of life is an important skill. I find it really amazing that someone as seemingly intelligent and intelligent as Meghan seems to have a hard time understanding this and therefore seems more and more tone-deaf.

The Duchess of Sussex wants us to think she’s the victim of all sorts of injustices she’s fighting bravely, when I’m afraid it just comes across as self-indulgent, insensitive whining.

Sorry Kate, I’m not buying it

There has been a trend lately for celebrities to start up wellness companies. It started with Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop. Kate Moss is the latest with Cosmoss.

While I’m all for people to make healthy changes and appreciate that celebrities can influence people, I am concerned that many are promoting unproven or questionable products.

The reality is that these people are incredibly rich and live tenuous lives, and it is this, rather than a magical cure, that allows them to look so fantastic. They’re selling a fantasy. With cooks, cleaners, drivers and assistants, they are isolated from the reality most people face.

They don’t have to combine family life and work like most people do. Remember that when you hear them talk about wonderful wellness products.

Health Minister Steve Barclay has launched a plan to eradicate waste, wakefulness and deadwood in the NHS to cut costs and free doctors from bureaucracy amid a backlog crisis. This is a long time ago. Bureaucracy paralyzes the work of doctors and prevents us from seeing more patients. It’s exhausting and frustrating.

Doctors warned last week of the ‘terrifying’ nitrous oxide epidemic in Britain after an increase in patients with ‘life-changing’ nerve damage and paralysis from taking the drug. The gas – nitrous oxide – is the second most commonly used recreational drug in the UK after cannabis. Where I live in central London, the streets are lined with the little shiny metal jerry cans that the gas comes in. It is incredibly popular with teenagers and gives a short high when inhaled. But it can also cause breathing difficulties, a dangerously elevated heart rate, and even death. We need to inform people about the risks. Part of the problem is that because it’s called “laughing gas,” it’s believed to be harmless. In fact, it is a powerful chemical and its use can have tragic consequences. It seems to be part of a generally rather confused and illogical view of the world of Gen Z, who do not drink alcohol due to health risks, but happily inhale nitrous oxide. insanity.

DR MAX PRESCRIPTION…

SOBER SEPTEMBER

Traditionally it is sober October, but this year it is sober September. Many of us over-indulged during the first real summer after the pandemic, so it’s time for a reset after all that partying. And no, it’s not too late to try!