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Since clinical depression is much more common is Parkies than in the general population... I admire Mike Wallace's courage and generosity. Janet --------------------------------------------------------------------- CBS' Mike Wallace details personal bout with depression at Senate hearing ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright ) 1996 Nando.net Copyright ) 1996 States News Service WASHINGTON (Feb 28, 1996 6:09 p.m. EST) -- CBS newsmen aren't supposed to break down in public -- so Mike Wallace refused to let people know he couldn't sleep at night. Newsmen with reputations for stinging interviews aren't supposed to feel pain -- so Mike Wallace didn't tell anybody about the tingling in his arm. Men who've lived seemingly forever in television are supposed to be immortal -- so Mike Wallace didn't tell anyone he wanted to kill himself. "I was ashamed to acknowledge what was going on," Wallace said Wednesday. The "60 Minutes" star recounted his personal battles with clinical depression at a hearing called by Sen. William Cohen to highlight the national problems with depression among the elderly. Cohen, R-Maine, said too many older Americans sink into depression without proper diagnosis, stranding them in nursing homes. "Recent advances in the understanding, prevention and treatment of mental disorders in the elderly could result in enormous savings over the long term -- in both human and economic costs," said Cohen, chairman of the Aging Committee. The costs of long-term care and hospitalizations for the elderly reach $30 billion a year because of mental disorders, Cohen said. Some 80 percent of those could be treated and go on to lead healthy lives, he added, "but only a minority of elderly depressed individuals are receiving adequate mental health care." Wallace said he first saw the signs of his own depression during the 1984 libel trial of Vietnam Gen. William Westmoreland against CBS and "60 Minutes." "Suddenly that episode for me turned into a thunderstorm of depression," he said. Even after winning the trial, Wallace fell deeper into depression. Wallace found happiness again when he sought out treatment, something, he says, most people don't realize can happen: "There is a way to treat it .. the nirvana of having that damn thing licked." Other, less famous citizens told the committee of their personal financial troubles in trying to battle depression, since Medicare only covers 20 percent of prescription drugs for psychological reasons. And they called on Congress to invest more money in research, so more doctors will be able to instantly diagnose the disease. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Janet Paterson - 48 - 7 - [log in to unmask] - Bermuda