John Fetterman: Support Pours In For Hospitalized PA Senator

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman is being lauded for publicly acknowledging he is being treated for depression at a Washington hospital.

Fetterman, who suffered a near-fatal stroke while campaigning for the Senate seat last year,
checked into Walter Reed National Military Center Wednesday night, according to Adam Jentleson, his chief of staff.

“While John has experienced depression off and on throughout his life, it only became severe in recent weeks,” Jentleson said in a statement.

It's unclear how long Fetterman will be hospitalized.

According to the American Stroke Association, depression is a common experience for stroke survivors often triggered by biochemical changes in the brain. When the brain is injured,
the survivor may not be able to feel positive emotions.

Whatever the reason for Fetterman's depression, he is being credited for potentially causing more people to be more candid about their own mental health issues.

“When somebody like Sen. Fetterman is transparent about having a clinical mental health condition and about getting inpatient treatment, it’s hugely powerful,” Pooja Lakshmin, a psychiatrist and clinical assistant professor at George Washington University School of Medicine, told the news and opinion website Vox.

“Talking about it really helps. When you see something like this in the news, it gives folks permission to share that story with a friend, to bring it up in a text chat.”

Peggy Drexler, a research psychologist, author and documentary film producer, wrote in a CNN opinion piece:"Fetterman’s depression—and his willingness to talk about it—may make him a more compassionate leader and appealing candidate. "We’re living in tough times, and almost everybody hurts; if our leaders are meant to represent us, how can we possibly fault them for being, in fact, just like us?"

Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith, who acknowledged on the Senate floor in 2019 that she suffers from depression, had this to say:

This from U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff of California:

Added Rep. Noah Arbit of Michigan: