Prince William continues his conversation on mental health, this time focusing on emergency response personnel. By the very nature of their work, they are constantly faced with dire situations. As a result, the UK charity Mind reported in 2015 that "87% of emergency responders and volunteers have experienced stress or mental health problems at work." Not surprisingly, the pandemic has made matters worse.

To shed light on this devastating issue, the Duke of Cambridge visited two paramedics, Will, a paramedic, and Chloe, an emergency care assistant, for a candid conversation about how their work affected their mental health.

Describing how the pandemic changed the way he did his job, Will said, "It was quite shocking compared to how I had been doing my job before. It was scary."

Chloe agreed, saying, "I was really scared that I might infect my family."

She continued. I'm pretty good at keeping my composure while I'm working, but I found that after I was done, all the emotions that I couldn't necessarily process stayed with me and built up. So my coping strategy is to let them all out and just allow myself to be upset and move on from there."

Will added, "I think there was a time when I didn't know how to deal with it. As time goes on and the years go by in your service, it's very important to realize what you've been exposed to. I didn't talk to my friends or family about it because it was easier to make a distinction between work and home.

The full conversation can be found here.

Prince William attended the Royal Foundation's Emergency Services Mental Health Symposium on November 25. Prior to the event, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge posted a video excerpt on Instagram, writing, "Will and Chloe, thank you for sharing your experiences working as emergency responders and the impact it has on your mental health."

"The full conversation will play out at today's symposium where 200 leaders from all four nations of fire, ambulance, police, and search and rescue will come together for the first time to address mental health in their workforce."