All’s Not Quiet on the Western Front? The Stigma against Mental Health Treatment for World Leaders

Abstract

Stigma against mental illness and its treatment has long been an issue across societies. While the stigma against seeking mental health treatment has generally decreased over time, the same may not be true when the person seeking treatment is a world leader. In this paper, we discuss historical examples of world leaders who have had mental health concerns as well as their own and others’ reactions to the idea of them seeking mental healthcare. In the first example of Ludendorff, a German leader during World War I, his staff encouraged him to seek mental health treatment, and he was able to retain power even after doing so. In the second example of Lyndon B. Johnson, despite displaying depressive symptoms, he did not seek mental health treatment. The third example is the story of Thomas Eagleton, who was briefly a vice-presidential candidate before his history of mental illness and treatment led him to step out of the race. We conclude that the timeline of these historical examples suggests that society’s acceptance of world leaders accessing mental health care has not progressed in the way it has for the public.