Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 25, 1994 TAG: 9404250028
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Oliver North - In his 1991 autobiography, North described in some detail his hospitalization in Bethesda Naval Hospital for depression after returning from Vietnam in December 1974. At the time, North was physically run-down and his wife was seeking a divorce. They later reconciled.
"Physically, I was in miserable shape with a terrible cough that wouldn't go away, no desire to eat, and for the first time in my life, an inability to sleep," he wrote. "Today, I can look back on that period and recognize the full-blown symptoms of depression. Back then, I wouldn't have admitted it even if I'd recognized it. Real men didn't have that problem - and I knew I was a real man."
North says he spent 11 days in the hospital undergoing "hours of group discussions and one-on-one sessions with a battery of doctors." Other writers have put the hospital stay at up to 22 days, but North's campaign said he stands by the details in his book.
The Washington Times, quoting three anonymous sources, reported in 1986 that North threatened suicide in a telephone call to a former commander just before the 1974 hospitalization. The Times said the commander went to North's home, where he found the young officer incoherent and waving a pistol.
North has dismissed that report as a "scandalous lie."
An aide said North and his wife, Betsy, whom the candidate calls "my best friend," have sought marriage counseling "intermittently over the years."
"A lot of people, especially veterans, after a war seek help," said Mark Merritt, North's spokesman. "Some horrific things were happening over there. . . . [Seeking help] certainly shouldn't be stigmatized."
Jim Miller: After a news conference at which he was questioned about his mental health history, Miller released a two-paragraph statement.
Following his father's death from cancer, Miller said, he "consulted a psychiatrist four or five times to learn more about a mood swing disorder that has affected several generations in his family."
Miller and his aides have refused to elaborate, except to deny trying to capitalize on North's illness.
Charles Robb: Robb said that he never has sought psychiatric, psychological or marital counseling, despite enormous stress surrounding publicity about his private life in recent years and early pressures as a combat veteran of Vietnam.
Robb described the past few years as "a long and difficult period," and said he has been supported by his family, friends and religious beliefs. "I am sustained by knowing who I am," he said.
Sylvia Clute: Clute said neither she nor any member of her family has sought mental health treatment or counseling. Several years ago, she suffered from a stress-induced condition in which the muscles in her neck and shoulders were so constricted that her head would become locked in place.
The condition was relieved with a muscle-repositioning technique known as Rolfing. Since then, Clute, a student of holistic healing, said she's been conscious of relaxation and exercise as ways of combating tension.
"If you have a positive outlook about everything, it all falls into place," she said.
Virgil Goode: Goode said he's never undergone any kind of mental health therapy, including when his first marriage ended in divorce several years ago. He recalls his father's death in 1975 as the saddest period in his life. To deal with it, "I just went back to the job quickly," he said. "That's the best thing."
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB