Pennsylvania senator, John Fetterman, recently spent six weeks in the hospital battling depression. He is finally feeling better and now he’s talking about his experience. He did an interview with NPR about his depression and recovery, John Fetterman speaks about depression after returning to the Senate : NPR. I’m sorry that Fetterman had to go through what he did, but the fact that he’s talking openly about it is great news.
For a while now, I’ve been interested in advancing the mental health conversation. I’ve written about it frequently in this space. I’ve also been critical of the way mental illness is talked about, especially in the press. Fetterman basically nails what I’ve been saying we need.
First of all, he is open. No one is forcing him to speak about his battle with depression. He’s doing it because he wants to help.
Second, he is honest. He doesn’t sugar coat anything. You get a real sense from him how hard depression can be.
Third, he talks about all of the things that are not depression but make depression harder to deal with. People and family not understanding, and things like that.
It’s an impressive interview and you should give it a listen. We need more of this. Thank you, Senator Fetterman for being so open and honest.
