Worth a look: US Congresspeople unite to eradicate mental health stigma
These will be 10 minutes very well spent!
Dear community,
Today, in keeping with our steady drumbeat for Mental Health Awareness Month, I’ve got a beautiful Worth a look column for you.
👀 Worth a look. Recommendations for particularly inspiring articles, books, movies, or shows that’ll make you think differently about health and well-being.
Last month marked Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman’s return to Congress and family life after 44 days of inpatient treatment for depression — about which he was remarkably and beautifully open. This followed a stroke he had nearly a year ago — post-stroke depression is a very common occurrence, and Senator Fetterman’s depression worsened in the weeks after his election to Congress in November 2022.
By February 2023, “I was so depressed that I didn't even realize how I was depressed... I wasn’t realizing I wasn’t eating... I dropped 25 pounds,” Senator Fetterman shared on All Things Considered. He shared the poignant impact of his depression on his kids and wife: “‘But aren’t we enough?’” he recalls his son Karl heartbreakingly asking him.
“And now my depression is in remission,” Senator Fetterman said last month. “And that’s why coming... home and coming back to the Senate has been joy.”
Not only did he receive a standing ovation from his colleagues on returning to the Senate floor after his treatment was successful, but he is now thriving in this work and at home in a way he never thought possible just a few months ago.
Here’s what else is remarkable:
In support of Senator Fetterman and anyone else struggling with mental illness, four other Congresspeople — Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota, Representative Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, Representative Ruben Gallego of Arizona, and Representative Ritchie Torres of New York — shared their own mental health journeys with the nation on ABC, ranging from depression to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Today’s Worth a look is their beautiful and resounding joint interview. If you haven’t yet, make sure to spend 10 minutes WATCHING THIS.
“Telling our stories is a form of public service,” said Representative Torres. “Whether you are Republican or Democrat, progressive or conservative, Black or White, rich or poor, mental health is a universal experience.”
“Your brain can get help,” shared Senator Smith. “You can heal.”
Representative Moulton, who co-authored the bill to establish the mental health crisis line 988, once experienced a political opponent who “attempted to weaponize my mental health against me. And so after that race, I said, ‘I'm going to tell my story on my own terms,’” even though at one time, he had thought revealing his PTSD journey might “end [his] career.”
But by now, almost every American has been touched by mental illness in some way — whether personally or in a loved one. And increasingly, we want to see ourselves reflected in our elected officials.
A stark contrast to 51 years ago…
With more public figures telling their stories, the once firmly entrenched stigma is starting to melt — slowly, but surely.
Compare these events to 51 years ago, when in 1972, Democratic Presidential nominee Senator George McGovern’s running mate, Senator Thomas Eagleton, was ousted from the Vice Presidential spot on the ticket a mere two weeks after revealing that he’d had depression in the past and had undergone electroconvulsive therapy for it.
(Incidentally, a close well-wisher of mine actually cited this very example to protectively seek to convince me not to publicly share my journey with bipolar disorder last year.)
But times are definitely changing — and I’m proud to be part of the shifting tide.
“There are 535 members in Congress. I suspect we’re not the only four,” said Representative Torres, in closing. “The fact that the four of us are here is a sign of progress. But the fact that only four of us are here is a sign we have a distance to travel [emphasis added]”
Let’s celebrate Senator Fetterman and his colleagues, Senator Smith, Representative Moulton, Representative Gallego, and Representative Torres, whose brave leadership is inciting a sea change in politics and far beyond.
Wishing you light,
Dr Devika Bhushan
In-person events this week in SF Bay Area, USA:
TONIGHT: Come hang out with us at Shack 15 in San Francisco! Tickets are available here.
Find out about a breakthrough film that’s currently underway on the bipolar spectrum: BrainStorm the Film will tell a story of hope, substance and beauty. Combining lived experience with cutting-edge science, our film aims to inspire and educate about living well on the bipolar spectrum.
Join myself and others from the film team to discuss our vision — and our advice around mental wellness:
Bonnie Waltch: Award-winning director, producer, writer
Sara Schley: Co-producer, co-writer
Dr Jim Phelps: Consulting psychiatrist, bipolar spectrum expert
Myself: Senior advisor, moderator
Tickets are still available here.
IN-PERSON KEYNOTE on stigma and well-being at Stanford on Friday! Would love to see you — register for free here.
This Friday, May 12, I will be returning to Stanford (where I spent a year on clinical faculty and as a post-doctoral research fellow studying gender norms and health) to kick off Stanford Medicine’s 6th Annual Diversity and Inclusion Forum with a keynote.
In my keynote, Combatting stigma to advance well-being for clinicians and patients alike, I’ll touch on:
Stigma and its attributes
Potential impacts of carrying a stigmatized identity on belonging, professional success and health
Tools for crafting clinical communication free of stigma and bias
Systemic and individual strategies to enhance well-being
This will be followed by powerful DEI workshops by Stanford scholars.
Come join us! You can register here.