By STEVE DUNFEY, InDepthNH.org
Mental illness is becoming a hot topic like other illnesses. John T. Broderick, Jr. is leading the way in this.
Here in New Hampshire and Vermont, Broderick has spent the last seven years speaking about mental illness hundreds of times to school audiences. More specifically, to his experience within his own family: his son Christian suffered from anxiety and depression.
Broderick is a prominent citizen of New Hampshire. A lawyer, he is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and the University of Virginia School of Law. He has experience in politics, having served as co-chairman of NH during the Clinton campaign for president in 1992.
He spent more than two decades as a civil trial lawyer, then served on the NH Supreme Court, where he served as chief justice for seven years. Broderick later served as dean of the University of New Hampshire Law School. He also served as an adjunct professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. Broderick is co-chair of the Campaign to Change New Hampshire’s Leadership. According to Valley News, it is an organization “dedicated to changing cultural perceptions of mental health.”
Broderick currently serves as senior director of external affairs for Dartmouth Health in Lebanon, NH. This position allows him to speak to thousands of interested students. He also wrote a book about his experience with mental illness called “Backroads and Highways: My Journey to Discovery on Mental Health.” He currently states that his work as a mental health activist “is the most important work of my life.”
There is still a stigma associated with mental illness and Broderick is trying to eliminate it. He traveled thousands of kilometers in his Jeep to educate young people about mental illness. He believes that talking about mental illness will bring it out of the shadows of inattention.
Broderick is an excellent public speaker and this adds to his important message. His message can be seen on YouTube as he delivers a speech at Mascoma Valley Regional High School in Canaan, NH Broderick is introduced by New Hampshire Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut. It depicts in detail her family’s experience dealing with her son’s mental illness. Broderick spent several days in intensive care after his son attacked him with a guitar. This is how he became aware of his son’s mental illness.
“The children I speak to, I have learned to open up. The children listen. They share with me that it’s okay to be okay. The children really had an impact on me. This is why I do what I do. People are showing up. People who, at one point, were ashamed. It’s ridiculous how we treat mental health.
Broderick wrote his book and credits Dartmouth Health with getting it into print. “One of the aims of the book is to reach parents whose children are under great pressure. Many children are not doing well. It’s part of growing up. We must demystify. What do we do about it? Today you have cancers and other recognized health problems. We are deficient in mental health.
Regarding his son, Broderick prefers privacy. But he said: “I’m telling a family story. I didn’t see it coming. We made mistakes and I let him down. Today he is well and married. This experience opened my eyes. Mistakes can be deeply unfair. No one asks about the problem. So why be cruel to people?
Nationally, Broderick’s equivalent would be Patrick J. Kennedy, son of the late Senator Ted Kennedy. Having faced addiction and bipolar illness, Kennedy also wrote a book about his experience called “A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction.” He “founded the Kennedy Forum which brings together the mental health community, and co-founded One Mind, a global leader in open scientific collaboration”.
Broderick and Kennedy are fighting the same fight to eliminate the stigma attached to mental illness. Broderick notes that more research is needed, as he says, “The statistics from the Center for Disease Control are alarming.”
As Broderick said at the end of his speech: “This is the most rewarding work of my life. But I can’t do it myself.
