Representative Dan Kildee (D-MI) said in a joint interview with his psychiatrist that aired Monday on MSNBC’s “Hallie Jackson Reports” that after the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot, he had to seek treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Kildee said, “I went home. I thought I was fine. It was after I got home, and I started looking at some of the video from the event. I thought it was a few dozen people. It was hundreds and hundreds of people, violent people. That triggered an emotional and physical reaction. I had a lot of tension in my chest. My breathing was difficult. I became really irritable.”
Dr. Jim Gordon said, “I’ve worked in war zones and post-war, post-disaster situations, after-school shootings and with war-traumatized vets. And what Dan was experiencing as he talked about it is what people experience. All of the symptoms that he just described to you these are all fight or flight that is being prolonged.”
Kildee said, “I just had a heightened state of awareness.”
Gordon said, “Hypervigilance is what they call it technically.”
Jackson asked, “Does it feel at all strange to sit alongside your therapist as a member of Congress talking about mental health challenges?”
Kildee said, “Yeah, this is not something I anticipated, but I’m just really grateful that we connected and that I was able to get help when I needed it the most.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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