John Fetterman is changing America’s mental health discussion one confession at a time

When John Fetterman (D-Pa.) was running for Senate against Dr. Mehmet Oz, I focused on the impact of his bad heart and the deficits his stroke could have on his ability to govern. 

Fitness for office has long been a focal point of mine, and I didn’t feel that the voters of Pennsylvania were entitled to anything less than a fully functioning senator. The fact that Congress has long been populated by legislators who have been physically or mentally compromised, from Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), is by no means a justification for continuing the trend.

But Fetterman has evolved. And this week, in an intimate and revealing interview for NBC’s Meet the Press, we learned that his response to victory was quite human and, in fact, inspiring. 

He admitted he doubted his abilities and the volume of social media chatter accelerated his downhill spiral. Most painful is that his children observed this and were confused and upset by it. Eventually, he ended up in the hospital and it took weeks for him to recover, his mood brightened by visits from the same children who were frightened for him. 

This story is human, and it is real. Now Fetterman stands as a role model for how to approach the epidemic of mental illness in this country. The solution lies with personal courage and family support; it does not lie with social media, just the opposite. 

Social media is directly or indirectly responsible for growing rates of depression, anxiety and suicidal thinking especially in our female teens, but also throughout our population. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has put out two important and related advisories on this, one on the epidemic of loneliness which impacts not just the elderly but also the young, and the other on the negative impact of social media and what to do about it.

Fetterman’s courage is quite relevant. He was overwhelmed by stigma and negativity but he rallied, and in the wake of his recovery I have found him to be even more courageous, standing up to political pressures. One example is Israel, where he has been a unique voice among progressives fighting for Israel in Congress and publicly against the heavy weight of opposition among other liberal Democrats.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t agree with Sen. Fetterman on many things, including a blanket endorsement of Medicare negotiating prices, universal health care and unions, despite their huge flaws. I do agree with him on extending Medicare to cover first responders. 

Most importantly I agree with his views on the dangers of social media bullying and negativity, placing renewed emphasis on family and the essential need to destigmatize mental health problems. 

A 2022 Kaiser Family Foundation/CNN poll revealed that 90 percent of Americans believe the U.S.  suffers from a mental health crisis. They are correct. The pandemic has taken a preexisting problem and made it far worse, as people have grown more isolated and more dependent on social media, as depression, anxiety, substance abuse and suicidal thinking have grown. 

Solutions involve better sleep, more social interaction, exercise and routines intended to break the cycle of worry, but most importantly, reliance on family and friends and de-stigmatization.

Fetterman, a longtime politician, may have at first seemed to be an unlikely and unrealistic role model to many, but he has evolved. While he may still not have my vote, he has my endorsement as a courageous spokesperson for mental health.

Marc Siegel MD is a professor of medicine and medical director of Doctor Radio at NYU Langone Health. He is a Fox News medical correspondent and author of the new book, “COVID; The Politics of Fear and the Power of Science.