[NYAPRS Enews] ST: MH History No Longer Kiss of Death for Political Candidates

[Harvey Rosenthal]

Mental Health Isn't The Issue - Stigma Is

Many Politicians Have Overcome Admissions Of Addiction Or Depression,
Thanks To Better Understanding Of The Manageable Diseases. Can Dayton,
Too?

By Josephine Marcotty And Maura Lerner, Minneapolis-St Paul Star Tribune
December 28, 2009 

 

There was a time when the public admission of mental illness could
derail a candidate's political career.

 

That could still happen to Mark Dayton, the Democratic candidate for
governor who went public this week with his history of depression. But
if so, experts say, it's the stigma -- not the disease itself -- that
would sabotage his run for office.

 

Today, more than a decade into Prozac Nation, there is no reason why
someone being treated for mild to moderate depression shouldn't hold a
job with enormous responsibility, doctors say. Abraham Lincoln and
Winston Churchill both suffered from depression, they say, and that was
long before Prozac and even more effective medications that are
available now.

 

"It's just a disability," said Dr. Steve Miles, a bioethicist at the
University of Minnesota and former candidate for the U.S. Senate who has
bipolar disorder. "I take medicines. I show up for work. If depression
disqualified people, we'd have to put 20 percent of them on welfare."

 

Mental illness is not the political kiss of death it once was, partly
because it's now more widely recognized as a treatable brain disease.
Depression is now regarded as one of the most common medical conditions,
affecting as many as one in five people at some point in their lives, by
some estimates.

 

But there is still enough stigma that many people commended Dayton for
disclosing his history with both depression and alcoholism. On Sunday
the former U.S. senator confirmed in an interview in the Star Tribune's
opinion section that he has long been medicated for depression. A
recovering alcoholic, Dayton also said he relapsed before the end of his
Senate term, but has remained sober since 2007.

 

Back in 1972, Sen. Thomas Eagleton of Missouri was forced to drop out as
the Democratic vice presidential nominee after reports surfaced that he
had had electroshock treatment for depression.

 

Since then few politicians have admitted their battles with chemical
dependency or mental illness.

 

But some have -- and survived. Among them: former Sen. Lawton Chiles,
who was elected governor of Florida in 1991 after disclosing his
depression; and Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., who was reelected to
Congress after publicly acknowledging bipolar depression and chemical
dependency.

 

"I think we've come light years as a nation," said Jim Ramstad, a
retired Republican congressman from Minnetonka. Ramstad, a recovering
alcoholic, has been open about his chemical-dependency since a drinking
binge landed him in jail in 1981, when he was a first-term state
senator. He praised Dayton for coming forward.

 

"I don't think his relapse should disqualify him from public office,"
Ramstad said. Minnesota voters, he added, are fair-minded and
"understand the disease of addiction. I learned that firsthand, that as
long as you're upfront and honest with them, they will accept you and
reach out to you."

 

Sue Abderholden, a longtime mental-health advocate, admits she was torn
by Dayton's disclosure. Anytime someone famous admits depression, she
said, "it helps decrease the wall of stigma." But Abderholden, executive
director of the Minnesota chapter of the National Alliance on Mental
Illness, said she was also "kind of saddened" that the disease may
become a negative campaign issue.

 

It may be fair to question whether someone with a mental illness can
cope with a high-stress job. But getting treatment is a sign of
strength, not weakness, she said.

 

The stigma of mental illness is still the primary impediment to
treatment, doctors say.

 

"People say 'I don't want my boss to find out, I'll lose my job,'" said
Dr. Paul Goering, medical director of mental health at Allina Hospitals
& Clinics. But if people can't acknowledge they have depression, they
won't seek medical care, he said.

 

Brian Doran, 66, of White Bear Lake said he kept his diagnosis secret
for years.

 

"It felt like a failure on my part," he said. "As I learned later, it's
not a failure. It happens to people."

 

But with effective treatment, he was able to rise through the ranks at
3M Corp., becoming the marketing director of one of the company's
international divisions before he retired seven years ago. "I thrived
even with this condition," said Doran, now a board member at the Mental
Health Association's Minnesota affiliate.

 

As did Eagleton. After withdrawing as George McGovern's running mate in
1972, he was reelected by the voters of Missouri and served in the U.S.
Senate until 1987.

 

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/80241147.html?elr=KArks8c7Pa
P3E77K_3c::D3aDhUec7PaP3E77K_0c::D3aDhUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU 

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