Four Members of Congress Open Up About Mental Health
As John Fetterman returned to the Senate after five weeks of inpatient treatment for clinical depression, ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd sat down with four members of Congress who opened up about their own mental health struggles – and whether this could be an inflection point in our nation’s conversation around mental health.
In a conversation that touched on the stigma, the risk, and rewards of sharing your story, the segment was profoundly encouraging and real. It was hopeful seeing how members of Congress have dealt with – and continue to manage – their mental health conditions, while making an enormous impact on the public they serve.
Excerpts from that ABC News segment follow:
Brittany Shepherd: I think it’s best to start if everyone could briefly explain in your own words the mental health struggles you personally face.
Rep. Ruben Gallego – (D) Arizona: I suffer from PTSD from the [Iraq] war. I sometimes feel a lot of regret. I feel sometimes feel that I should have gone instead of some of my guys who went. Sometimes I feel maybe a little hypersensitive about my surroundings.
Sen. Tina Smith – (D) Minnesota: So I first experienced depression when I was in my late teens, when I was in college, and recovered from that. And then had another experience with depression when I was a young mom in my 30s. Both times I was able to get care and treatment. First when I was in college and then later when I had a therapist who helped me figure out that I was experiencing clinical depression and helped me – over time – heal.
Rep. Seth Moulton – (D) Massachusetts: So I dealt with post-traumatic stress after Iraq. And it took me a while to come to terms with the fact that I even had it. Because I didn’t have the worst symptoms. I would wake up in cold sweats and have terrible dreams, but I was able to go to graduate school, I was able to hold down a job. A lot of vets can’t even do those simple things. But when I came to terms with the fact that I had it, I got treatment.
Rep. Richie Torres – (D) New York: I struggle with depression. Back in 2007, I dropped out of college – dropped out of NYU – because I found myself struggling with depression. There were moments when I even attempted suicide.
I was admitted into Columbia Presbyterian where I was formally diagnosed with major depressive disorder. Ever since then I’ve been managing the condition. And I never thought I would make it to the United States Congress despite my lifelong struggle with depression.
The reason we’re all sitting together right now is that your colleague John Fetterman is dealing with his clinical depression. I want to bring you back to that moment when the news broke. Do you remember how that made you feel?
Sen. Smith: I had spent a lot of time with John actually the day that he checked himself in to the hospital … so my initial feeling was just one of intense empathy.
Rep. Gallego: I was scared for him, though, too. ‘Cause I know when you start talking about some of the mental illness that you may have or what you’re dealing with, that there are also people who will target you for it, they will try to tear you down, they will try to use it against you, against your family.
Rep. Torres: It reminded me of my own hospitalization. And for me, Senator Fetterman is a hero. Because he has the courage to tell his truth about his struggle with depression in the public square.
It’s been 50 years since George McGovern removed Senator Thomas Eagleton from that presidential ticket when it came to light that Eagleton had been hospitalized for depression – not only that but also receiving electroshock therapy. When you think about McGovern and Eagleton, how much has changed for you, and perhaps more importantly, how far do we have to go still?
Sen. Smith: When I’d been in the Senate for about a year, I made the decision to give a speech on the floor of the Senate about my own experience with depression. I mean, it felt pretty scary to do that on the floor of the United States Senate. Senator Eagleton was in my mind, even though that seems like a long, long time ago, because you never really know how people are judging you – because the people who are judging you rarely judge you to your face. Right? They judge you behind your back.
Rep. Gallego: Or on Twitter… (laughing)
Were any of you scared to put yourself out there? In a way that you don’t know how this is going to land?
Rep. Moulton: I thought it might end my career. I thought I could be out of politics the next day when I told my story about dealing with post-traumatic stress.
Honestly, in as close as maybe ten years ago, that might have been the case. Instead of being castigated, I remember how many people in the next few days and weeks came up to me and just opened up. People from all over America I’d never met before, but even close colleagues. Friends. People in my office who I had no idea were seeing therapists or getting mental health care saying, “You know, I do that too.”
How’d that make you feel when you heard that?
Rep. Gallego: One thing it makes me feel is that, although I’m dealing with this, at least I’m doing something good. I’m encouraging people to actually be honest about this, maybe I’m encouraging people to go seek help that were hesitant to seek help. It’s worth everything that we’ve gone through.
Rep. Torres: Telling our stories is a form of public service. We represent people who are deeply affected by mental health conditions like depression/anxiety who want to see themselves in their elected officials. And I felt like I had a profound obligation to confront the culture of silence and stigma and shame that often surrounds the subject of mental health. As public figures, we’re in a unique position to do so, and to inspire hope for the people we represent.
Do you feel there’s legitimate criticism there, though, from a constituent saying, “I don’t know how I feel about somebody who is going to be in briefings, or making our laws dealing with their own acute mental health.
Rep. Moulton: I think it’s totally legitimate to ask the question. Right? But don’t just jump in to criticize. Ask the question but then let’s have a conversation about this … because we have made tremendous progress dealing with the stigma but we have so much further to go.
Rep. Torres: The fact that the four of us are here is a sign progress. But the fact that there are only four of us here is a sign that we have a distance to travel. There are 535 members in Congress. I suspect we’re not the only four.
Sen. Smith: (laughing) I’m pretty sure it’s not just us.
Rep. Gallego: I remember when I started going to a therapist, I used to try to find as many ways as possible to hide the fact that I was going to a therapist … What a sea change that I don’t have to do that anymore.
What do you think that Congress can do? Is there more to be done legislatively on mental health? Any particular legislation you’d like to spotlight right now?
Rep. Moulton: I co-authored the bill to establish 988, the new national mental health hotline. It was implemented this past July, but it was passed a couple of years ago. Just since July, calls are up about 50%. 50% more Americans are getting help than just a year ago.
But here’s what’s even more amazing. Texts – which, of course, are generally used by younger Americans – texts are up 1445%. Which speaks to how many more young Americans are getting help…
Rep. Gallego: But also how many hid it for so long. If you don’t start working at this, it gets harder and harder.
Why has it been worth it for you?
Sen. Smith: My message to people who are listening to this: your brain can get help. You can heal. I hope that all of us sharing our stories will help people to not be so hard on themselves to and to realize that asking for help is a sign of strength, it’s not a sign of weakness.
Rep. Gallego: I just think I want to be a better father. That’s why I did it. I went down this journey because I was worried I wasn’t going to be a good father. That’s why I’ll continue forward.
Rep. Moulton: You go into public service because you want to make a difference in people’s lives. I think passing 988 is probably the single most impactful thing I’ve done in Congress, because I hear from people across the country who say, “That saved my life.”
And you know, the risk was worth it too. If telling our stories had cost any of our political careers, and yet we saved just one life by doing that? It’s worth it.
Rep. Torres: I’m with Seth. If telling your story saves one life or makes one person have a little less pain, a little more hope, that makes it worthwhile.
I worry about … I’m a millennial, but I worry about Generation Z. It’s the first generation to grow up on social media. It’s a generation that was hit hard by the isolation of COVID-19. Those are two massive mental health events. And so I feel like the need for mental health care has taken on the fierce urgency of now.
You can watch the full ABC News video segment here.
Image from ABC News