The Conversation Around Mental Health Is Changing
When John Fetterman checked himself into Walter Reid Medical Center to receive treatment for clinical depression, his aides weren’t sure how the public would respond, a Politico article notes.
To their surprise, letters and phone calls of thanks and support poured into his office. “He’s so brave,” said one wellwisher. His staff are discovering that the conversation around mental health is truly changing, even in politics.
Before President Joe Biden kicked off a speech in Philadelphia last month, he publicly addressed the senator: “John, if you can hear this at all, we’re with you, pal. We’re with you,” he said. The crowd cheered in support.
“You never know how it’s going to go, you know? There’s no playbook for what John did,” said a Fetterman aide. “But if you can learn anything from John Fetterman, it’s that it’s OK. Things can get better. It is OK to get help. That’s what he wants people to take away from this.”
Washington has long been a city where public figures go to great lengths to hide personal struggles. But as 1 in 5 Americans deals a mental health condition, things are changing even here, the article notes.
Experts are applauding the welcome change. As Lynn Bufka of the American Psychological Association explains, “In the ’50s and ’60s, nobody said the word cancer. We talk about cancer now. We need to get to that point where we talk about depression. We talk about bipolar disorder. We talk about PTSD. We talk about schizophrenia, and acknowledge that these are illnesses for which there is treatment, and people can have satisfying, fulfilling lives.”
As he outlined in his State of the Union address, President Biden has made mental health a pillar issue for his administration. “The idea that we treat mental health and physical health as though somehow they’re distinct — it’s health,” Biden said.
He asked Vivek Murthy, who served as Surgeon General under President Obama, to serve a second term because of the urgent mental health crisis –and Murthy’s personal familiarity with mental health challenges. Murthy has shared openly about his own struggles with mental health in his youth and about his uncle, who took his own life after a silent battle with depression.
Senator Tina Smith knows firsthand the risks and rewards of speaking out about mental health. “It is getting better, but individuals still take risks when they speak out … people are still willing to jump to the conclusion that because you have a mental health issue, that means are you really capable of serving? Can you really do what you need to do?” Smith said.
Each public figure who models transparency enables others to get help. “But to me, it’s worth it. The positive side of it is the people out there, especially the young people, who see folks like me — who by all appearances have my act together — being open about it. That creates a door for them to walk through.”
Read the full article here.
Ward, Myah. “Washington used to abhor talking about mental health. No more.” Politico, 17 Apr 2023, https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/17/mental-health-fetterman-senate-00092233.
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