Patrick J. Kennedy

• Kennedy has been diagnosed with bipolar II disorder. He has described receiving psychotherapy from age 13 and later receiving treatment for depression, anxiety, substance use and bipolar disorder. [2]
• He began speaking more openly about his mental health following a highly publicized 2006 car crash and subsequent treatment for addiction. In his 2015 memoir A Common Struggle, he discussed his bipolar disorder in much greater detail and described his decision to break what he saw as a culture of secrecy around mental illness and addiction. [5]

• Kennedy has described being more prone to severe depression than to full mania. He has also said that he has engaged in high-risk behaviour and can become “very manic” in his approach to life, while noting that he has not experienced some stereotypical manic behaviours such as excessive shopping or spending. [2]
• His mental health difficulties were closely intertwined with substance use. Kennedy has described using alcohol, cocaine and prescription drugs over many years, including while serving in Congress, and has said that substance use often functioned as an attempt to relieve depression and emotional pain. [7]
• In 2006, after crashing his car into a barrier near the U.S. Capitol while under the influence of prescription medication, he returned to treatment at the Mayo Clinic. The incident became a major public turning point in how openly he discussed both addiction and mental illness. [3]

• Kennedy has described receiving treatment for both bipolar disorder and addiction over many years, including repeated periods in rehabilitation. After the 2006 Capitol crash, he entered treatment at the Mayo Clinic and began speaking more openly about the extent of his mental health and substance-use problems. [5]
• He has also described long-term recovery as requiring structure and continued care. In a 2021 interview, Kennedy said he was attending a 12-step recovery program every day, sometimes twice a day, continuing with therapy, exercising regularly and keeping an early sleep schedule. [6]

• Kennedy describes himself as being in long-term recovery from addiction and has been sober from drugs and alcohol since February 22, 2011. He has said that maintaining that recovery depends on continued treatment, daily 12-step meetings, regular exercise, therapy and a structured routine. [6]
• He has also said that he views both addiction and bipolar disorder as chronic conditions that require ongoing management rather than illnesses that are simply cured. [7]

• Kennedy has made mental health and addiction advocacy a central part of his public work. In Congress, he was a leading sponsor of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, which established federal requirements for many health plans to cover mental health and substance-use treatment on terms comparable to medical and surgical care. [8]
• After leaving Congress, he founded The Kennedy Forum, which focuses on enforcing and expanding mental health parity, improving access to treatment and advancing broader mental-health policy reform. He has also drawn on his own experience with bipolar disorder and addiction to argue that mental illness should be treated as a health issue rather than a source of shame or secrecy. [9]

“You are winning because you’re maintaining your recovery.”

— Patrick J. Kennedy [10]