'Downward spiral:' Fetterman talks about his depression

Stephen Neukam, The Hill

FILE – Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., walks to a motorcade vehicle after stepping off Air Force One behind President Joe Biden, Feb. 3, 2023, at Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

(The Hill) — Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who was released from the hospital last week following treatment for clinical depression, detailed the "downward spiral" that led him to seek help in a recent interview.

"It's like, you just won the biggest race in the country," Fetterman said to CBS Sunday Morning in his first interview since checking into treatment. "And the whole thing about depression is that objectively, you may have won, but depression can absolutely convince you that you actually lost. And that's exactly what happened. And that was the start of a downward spiral."

Fetterman defeated Mehmet Oz in one of the most closely-watched and high-stakes Senate races in 2022. During his campaign in May 2022, Fetterman suffered a stroke, and had to rely on communication aids to help in his recovery.

In February of this year, he checked into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after struggling with depression. Fetterman was released from the hospital on Friday and will spend time with his family at home in Pennsylvania while the Senate is on a two-week recess.

He expects to be back in the Senate when it reconvenes the week of April 17.

Fetterman spoke with CBS two days before he left the hospital and he said he was looking forward to returning home for the first time with his depression in remission.

"I can't wait til what it really feels like to take it all in and to start making up any lost time," Fetterman said.

Fetterman's decision to check himself into the hospital to seek treatment was met with an outpouring of support from both sides of the aisle in Congress and the White House. Fetterman said his message coming out of the hospital is not a political one.

"I’m just somebody that's suffering from depression," Fetterman said.

Pennsylvania voters told NewsNation on Monday that they’re glad the senator has been so open about his battle with a disorder that affects one in three stroke survivors — and more than 20 million Americans annually.

NewsNation correspondent Evan Lambert contributed to this article.