The View co-hosts had a frank discussion about their own difficulties on World Mental Health Day, hoping to open the door to conversations about people who are suffering from issues that are largely left unspoken in today’s society.
Show moderator Whoopi Goldberg and panelist Meghan McCain both admitted to their own struggles with the aftereffects of death and they continue to work through the feelings one encounters when losing someone they love.
The panel then discussed the role of social media in what is a growing mental health crisis in the United States.
Meghan McCain bravely admitted that she is having difficulty coming to terms with the death of her father, Senator John McCain, who passed in August of this year after battling brain cancer for over one year.
“One of the things I wanted to say when I came back was that we do not talk about grief and death enough at all,” McCain said, as reported by ABC News . “I’m in an intense grieving process right now, I’m still struggling with how to talk about it.”
“Make no mistake, I’m happy to be here on this show,” she continued. “But, mornings and nights are still really hard for me.”
The discussion was prompted by an op-ed that singer and actress Lady Gaga penned to The Guardian for World Mental Health Day.
In the frank essay, Gaga noted that there is a distinct lack of support that mental health receives – less than 1 percent of global aid – and she called upon countries to do more. Gaga and co-writer Tedros Adhanom, the director-general of the World Health Organization, noted the stigma and misconceptions about the illness are also a serious threat for people who are suffering.
McCain openly admitted that something as normal as the grieving process should be discussed more openly.
“We should be able to talk in our culture about dying, cancer, grief, without stigma,” she commented.
Goldberg also revealed that although both her brother and mother died years earlier, she still continues to grieve their loss. Goldberg’s brother Clyde Johnson died in 2015 and her mother Emma Johnson in 2010.
The show moderator noted that grief changes as time goes on, but its effects are still as strong.
McCain then called attention to another big problem she feels also does not get enough attention: the suicide epidemic among veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues.
“We should be talking about this in a broad sense,” McCain said. “We’re still not doing enough with the V.A., we are not doing enough to support veterans when they integrate back into society.”
If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. For readers outside the U.S., visit Suicide.org or Befrienders Worldwide for international resources you can use to find help.
