U.S. Rep. Susan Wild: 'It's hard for anyone to have to talk about mental health issues'

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - U.S. Rep. Susan Wild applauded Sen. John Fetterman for publicly seeking help for clinical depression.

Wild visited Lehigh Valley Public Media on Friday afternoon where she spoke in an uplink with TV reporters from CBS News and NBC10 (WCAU-TV) in Philadelphia.

• U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, D-Lehigh Valley, spoke about the stigma surrounding mental illness
• Wild lost her partner of 17 years to suicide in 2019
• She applauded U.S. Sen. John Fetterman on publicly seeking help for clinical depression
  

Fetterman, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in November after a heated campaign in which he suffered a stroke, announced Thursday he had checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment of clinical depression.

His office said he experienced depression off and on throughout his life, but it became severe in recent weeks.

Few politicians speak out

People in high-ranking positions may find it harder to discuss their struggles with mental health issues, Wild said.

"It's hard for anyone to have to talk about mental health issues, because we've grown up in a world where it's kept quiet and secret within families and between spouses," she said. "But when you're in the public eye it's that much more difficult because in some respects the public owns you.

"People are not shy about attacking or questioning your ability to do your job."

Wild told reporters from CBS Newsthat she wants to work with Fetterman to raise awareness about mental health.

"When public figures speak out about this, I believe it enables you to serve constituents better," she said. "I guarantee that there are millions of people all over in Pennsylvania, who themselves have mental health issues, or they have a family member who does. And when public figures talk about it it makes people feel less alone, and also draws attention to how important is it to support mental health resources."

Fetterman's health under scrutiny

Concerns over Fetterman's health started in May of last year when he took a two-month break from campaigning to recover from the stroke. Soon after he had a pacemaker and a defibrillator implanted to treat an irregular heart rhythm.

He continues to face issues related to auditory processing — with the assistance of aides he uses a mobile device that translates voice to text using closed captioning.

Last week, Fetterman stayed two days at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C., checking himself in after experiencing lightheadedness. His office said tests found no evidence of a new stroke or a seizure.

While some may question his ability to serve as senator, Wild noted the pressures he faced in the last year including the stroke, a heated, grueling Senate race, and adjusting to new responsibilities in office.

"People all around us have their mental health struggles and many of them are in highly demanding professions or occupations and are getting properly treated and fully able to perform — doctors, factory workers, pilots, bus drivers, teachers...every walk of society there are people who have mental health issues," said Wild, an attorney who is in her third term in Congress.

"That does not make them incapable of doing their job. They would be incapable if they didn't seek the treatment that they needed. If someone recognizes they have an issue and seeks treatment there is no reason they wouldn't be just as functional as the person in the next desk, so to speak."

J. Scott Applewhite

/

AP

'Chipping away' at the stigma

Wild lost her longtime partner, Kerry Acker, to suicide in 2019. That same year, she declared on the House floor that suicide is a "national emergency."

According to Mental Health America, 19.86% of adults in the U.S. are experiencing a mental illness — an estimated 50 million people.

With those numbers only climbing every year, Wild hopes one day it's talked about more openly.

"I often use the example that more people would rather go to their boss at work and say that they have to undergo chemo treatments for cancer than say, 'I need time off for therapy sessions for my depression.' Hopefully employers are becoming more evolved on this subject as well as the public," she said.

"I really hope that we can recognize that mental health is a part of physical health — your head and your brain are part of your body. We have to keep chipping away at this stigma of getting treatment.

"I think we've made a lot of advances in that area but we're not there yet. What Fetterman is experiencing now in terms of what some people are saying about him on social media is a perfect example of that."