Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) has checked out of Walter Reed Military Medical Center after a six-week stay for treatment of clinical depression. Fetterman admitted himself into the hospital on the recommendation of his doctor. Now Fetterman is taking the opportunity to urge others suffering from mental health challenges to seek help.
The Senate is on a two-week holiday recess. He is scheduled to return to work on April 17. Until then, he plans to spend time in Pennsylvania with his family and constituents, according to his spokesman. Fetterman’s office said that Dr. David Williamson, the neuropsychiatry chief, and medical director at Walter Reed, determined that his depression is now in remission. Maybe it’s just me but I haven’t heard of the term ‘remission’ used in mental illness. It’s more commonly used for physical illnesses like cancer and other chronic diseases.
Fetterman released an upbeat-sounding message upon his departure from Walter Reed.
“I am so happy to be home,” Mr. Fetterman said in a statement. “I’m excited to be the father and husband I want to be, and the senator Pennsylvania deserves.”
I wish Fetterman well. I don’t, however, think he should be serving in the Senate. I’m not a medical professional but it seems to me that his line of work is too stressful and demanding for a man who is still recovering from a severe stroke. He never allowed himself the time to recover because of his campaign. Now he is coping with clinical depression, which he has a history of in his medical history. That’s a lot for anyone. He also has a wife and two children to consider.
It is admirable that Fetterman is open about his struggle with depression.
Mr. Fetterman, 53, whose decision to reveal his depression reflected a new openness among some public figures to talk about their mental health challenges, made a point of holding himself out as an example of the change that was possible with treatment. He thanked the medical team at Walter Reed, saying the care “changed my life,” and he promised he would say more about it soon.
“For now, I want everyone to know that depression is treatable, and treatment works,” he said. “This isn’t about politics. Right now there are people who are suffering with depression in red counties and blue counties. If you need help, please get help.”
He recorded an interview that will air this Sunday on CBS’s Sunday Morning. He described his “downward spiral” that sent him to the hospital.
“I had stopped leaving my bed,” he said. “I had stopped eating. I was dropping weight. I had stopped engaging some of the most — things that I love in my life.” He said that despite winning one of the most competitive Senate races in last year’s midterm elections, “depression can absolutely convince you that you actually lost.” So began what he described as “a downward spiral.”
In his discharge briefing, provided by the senator’s office, Dr. Williamson wrote that Mr. Fetterman never had any suicidal ideation but suffered from “severe symptoms of depression with low energy and motivation, minimal speech, poor sleep, slowed thinking, slowed movement, feelings of guilt and worthlessness.”
Over the past six weeks, Mr. Fetterman participated in talk therapy, had his medications monitored by doctors and went on therapeutic walks in the facility’s healing garden. He read and dog-eared a copy of Dr. Raymond DePaulo’s “Understanding Depression.” His doctor noted that as the treatment proceeded, “sleep was restored, he ate well and hydrated, and he evidenced better mood, brighter affect and improved motivation, self-attitude and engagement with others.”
Six weeks after entering Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for inpatient treatment for depression, Sen. @JohnFetterman shares his struggle with depression, his health, and more in an intimate interview with Jane Pauley this “Sunday Morning.” pic.twitter.com/3o2926I48B
— CBS Sunday Morning 🌞 (@CBSSunday) March 31, 2023
Fetterman’s staff criticize his opponents who comment on his absence and question his ability to do the job he’s been elected to do. Too bad. He’s an elected official and his constituents deserve full representation in the Senate. An honest assessment of his job performance comes with the territory.
His chief of staff, Adam Jentleson, said that other senators haven’t seen him being himself. “That person is going to be a force of nature as a senator.”
We’ll see about that. We can wish him a full recovery and remain realistic at the same time.
I am extremely grateful to the incredible team at Walter Reed.
The care they provided changed my life. I will have more to say about this soon, but for now I want everyone to know that depression is treatable, and treatment works.
— Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) March 31, 2023
