John Fetterman Provides Update on His Battle With Depression

John Fetterman has spoken out about his experience with depression, a year after he was hospitalized with the condition.

The Pennsylvania senator checked himself into the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, a hospital in Maryland, to receive treatment for clinical depression on February 15, 2023. His mental health had worsened after he suffered a stroke on the campaign trial in May 2022 and he was discharged on March 31. During his absence he was criticized by Republicans who questioned his capacity to serve.

A year on, the Democrat outlined his experience of the condition in a thread on X, formerly Twitter, saying he was "grateful" to be celebrating his son's birthday with him and the rest of his family.

Newsweek contacted Fetterman's office by email to comment on this story.

"I'll never forget the decision," he said. "I had been in a dark place, and going to inpatient treatment on Karl's birthday left me feeling like a failure. Clinical depression is no joke, and it convinces you that you're a loser, even if you've won."

"But slowly, over a few weeks, I began to get better. My family was the single biggest motivation to take on my depression."

"Getting help changed my life, and I consider it a big duty of mine to pay it forward. I'm proud to be serving Pennsylvania in the Senate today — and excited to be with my family on Karl's birthday."

He thanked his family, medical professionals and colleagues in the Senate and called on others suffering to seek help.

"Today, I continue to honor the promise I made to myself when I got better: to let people who may be in that place know that there is a path to recovery," he said. "It works. I promise you it does.

Shortly after Fetterman was hospitalized, on February 28, the Washington County Republican Party released a statement calling on him to appear on camera to "show us he is alive and well, and if he is unable to do so, we call upon our elected Representatives in Washington, Senator [Bob] Casey and Congressman [Guy] Reschenthaler, to intervene immediately."

When he was released from hospital, Dr. David Williamson, Walter Reed's neuropsychiatry chief and medical director, said in a statement from Fetterman's office that the senator suffered "severe symptoms of depression" when he was first admitted, including "low energy and motivation, minimal speech, poor sleep, slowed thinking, slowed movement, feelings of guilt and worthlessness," although without having any "suicidal ideation."