[ad_1]
John Fetterman stopped eating, couldn’t get out of bed, and felt apathetic about life, he said in his first television interview, describing his major battle with depression, and the optimism he now feels after receiving treatment. talked about
Fetterman’s candid and sometimes emotional interview aired on CBS sunday morning Last week, Fetterman was taped two days before he left Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he spent six weeks undergoing treatment for depression.
Fetterman told CBS’s Jane Pauley, “You just won the biggest race in the country. As for depression, you may have won objectively, but depression is what you actually lost.” “That’s exactly what happened, and that was the beginning of the downward spiral.”
The Pennsylvania Democrat was hospitalized for major depression in Walter Reed in mid-February. Fetterman had already recovered from a stroke he suffered in May 2022. One in three of his stroke survivors is diagnosed with depression. He is now back in Braddock, a small town outside Pittsburgh, in remission, spending time with his wife Giselle and his three children, ages 8 to 14. . He plans to return to the Senate when the House reopens the week of April 17.
“I’m coming home and this is the first time my depression is in remission,” said Fetterman, who said he had struggled with depression his entire life. I’m starting to make up for lost time.”
Pauley also spoke with David Williamson, chief and medical director of neuropsychiatry at Walter Reed, who oversaw Fetterman’s care. He said Fetterman’s depression was treated with medication. He said the senator felt better, interacted more with others, and ate and drank better. .
Williamson told Pauly, “When a patient is depressed, his speed and clear thinking are greatly reduced.”
“Is it reversible?” asked Pauly.
“It’s certainly reversible,” Williams said.
Fetterman recalled experiencing life’s movements “like a robot”. This included feelings of isolation when his colleagues asked him why he wasn’t eating during his inauguration or the departure of the Democratic Party. He strangled his son, telling him that he couldn’t get out of bed, even though he was worried and tried to cheer him up.
“He said, ‘Dad, what’s up? We’re great, we’re here and you won. He ended up checking into the hospital for his son’s birthday.’
“As explained to me, you were an ‘agnostic’ on the question of whether or not to live at the time,” Pauley said.
“I never self-harmed, but I was indifferent,” Fetterman said.
Gisele Fetterman sat beside her husband and held his hand during part of the interview.
“He just became a senator, is married to me, has great kids, and is still depressed,” she said. “But depression doesn’t always make sense. .”
Asked about his political ambitions beyond the Senate, Fetterman said he is focused on being a father, husband, and senator.
An early priority is to take my son out for his missed birthday dinner.
[ad_2]
Source link