Wisconsin Dem candidate for governor Francesca Hong admitted to being diagnosed as mentally ill
“I was diagnosed with bipolar disease. I was taking SSRIs and I’d overdosed on lithium.”
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“I was diagnosed with bipolar disease. I was taking SSRIs and I’d overdosed on lithium.”
Far-left candidate and front-runner for the Democrats for governor in Wisconsin Francesca Hong has previously admitted to being diagnosed as bipolar, a mental health condition that can lead to someone having manic episodes as well as more depressive episodes, which can last between days and weeks.
Hong, who is currently leading the Democratic primary polls for the gubernatorial race, told Meal Magazine in a 2023 interview that when she was younger, she had a mental breakdown and was diagnosed with the condition.
"At 18, I had a mental breakdown. I didn't actually walk at my high school graduation because I had been hospitalized for a week at a child psychiatric hospital. I just felt like nothing had meaning anymore. It was a numbness that took over, and a pain that I couldn't describe. I couldn't feel anymore, and that scared the hell out of me. And I found myself self-harming to feel something," Hong told reporters at the time.
When asked if she was cutting herself, Hong replied, "It was cutting. I was diagnosed with bipolar disease. I was taking SSRIs and I'd overdosed on lithium. I didn't know why I couldn't connect with people deeper, and that pushes you into isolation."
The interview surfaced online over the weekend, with some saying that it is necessary for the public to know about her condition if she is to be elected to public office.
Journalist Michael Shellenberger said in a post to X, “Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness and is highly treatable with lithium. So while I don't think it's necessarily disqualifying, voters deserve to know if @FrancescaHongWI is receiving professional care and what it is. It should be disqualifying if she refuses to say.”
https://twitter.com/shellenberger/status/2083598802892870035?s=20
Another user said, “It’s a lifelong condition. Sympathetic but 100% disqualifying for the role of Governor.”
https://twitter.com/Matt_Bro_WI/status/2083510416442081487?s=20
Hong, who is a card-carrying member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is slated to be the Democratic nominee for governor if the polls play out how they are currently in Wisconsin. She has previously said that she wants to defund and abolish the police, abolish the Senate, as well as abolish ICE.
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