The Kennedy family are about as close to royalty as we have in the United States, and despite the public nature of their family and its many tragedies, they are people who have managed to keep a lot of the more private aspects of their lives private. Former congressman Patrick Kennedy, the late Senator Ted Kennedy’s youngest son, has broken that tradition and is speaking out about his experiences with alcoholism and mental health issues in his book, A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction. He’s one of the growing number of public figures using their platforms to help end the stigmas surrounding mental illness, and he’s dedicating his career to ensuring that mental health is covered in the same way physical health is. Here’s an excerpt from an article in the Sun Sentinel about Kennedy. Click through for the full text, and if you live in the greater Cleveland area and need help with mental health issues or addiction, we hope you’ll reach out.
Slamming his Mustang convertible into a Capitol barrier in 2006 was a wake-up call, he said. After initially denying he was drinking, he went into rehab. But his father called the crash a “fender bender” and tried to downplay the incident.
“I wanted my father to understand I was ill,” said Kennedy, 49. “I grew up with people used to not talking about things.”
When he went public with his bipolar illness and struggles with drinking, his father was “livid.”
“This isn’t just a Kennedy issue, 25 percent of all Americans are affected by mental illness and addiction,” he said.
Kennedy was the lead sponsor of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act in 2008 to “no longer have separate treatment for brain illnesses and not reimburse mental illness.”
He left after eight terms in Congress and has made equal medical care for brain illnesses including Alzheimer’s disease his cause through the Kennedy Forum and One Mind for Research.