Getting treatment for depression is a painstaking step for anyone to take — perhaps even more for a U.S. senator who must do it in the public arena. Sen. John Fetterman’s candor about his condition, after admitting himself into Walter Reed Medical Center last week, was laudable, courageous and, potentially, liberating. One in 5 Americans suffer from depression. Even so, an insidious stigma about mental health persists, though it is far less crushing than it was 50 years ago, when a presidential candidate dumped his running mate following revelations about his mental health treatment.
Whether depression or any after-effects of a stroke will keep Fetterman from serving as a U.S. senator is a decision only he can make, with the help of his doctors, advisers and, most of all, his family. Either way, it’s a choice no one has the right to second-guess.
It’s an understatement to say Fetterman’s life has changed dramatically in the past year. His May stroke altered his imposing physique and muted his ebullient personality. He used closed captioning to understand conversation partners. Nevertheless, he pressed forward with an exhausting and, ultimately, successful campaign for U.S. Senate, promising authenticity with his words and actions. Now, away from his wife and children, he is adapting to the demanding life of a U.S. senator.
