Patrick: Briefly hospitalized for depression in 1980s

The two candidates Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, left, and State Senator Dan Patrick, right, in the Republican primary for Texas Lieutenant Governor square off in Texas Votes: The Dewhurst-Patrick Debate in the Republican Lieutenant Governor Race live from the Houston Public Media studios on Friday, May 2, 2014, at 7 p.m. The runoff primary election will be held Tuesday, May 27, 2014. less The two candidates Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, left, and State Senator Dan Patrick, right, in the Republican primary for Texas Lieutenant Governor square off in Texas Votes: The Dewhurst-Patrick Debate ... more Photo: Eric Kayne, ElcinorhC Eht RoF Photo: Eric Kayne, ElcinorhC Eht RoF Image 1 of / 11 Caption Close Patrick: Briefly hospitalized for depression in 1980s 1 / 11 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN — Dan Patrick, a state senator and front-runner in the May 27 GOP runoff to unseat incumbent Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, briefly spent time in a psychiatric hospital almost 30 years ago for depression and exhaustion, court records made public on Thursday showed.

In a statement, Patrick confirmed he sought and successfully completed the treatment, and accused Dewhurst of dirty politics in leaking the information to the press in the final days of an increasingly acrimonious campaign, sparking a new war of words that drew in other state senators in support of Patrick.

The documents were provided to the media by Jerry Patterson, Texas' land commissioner who was an unsuccessful GOP primary candidate for lieutenant governor who is now supporting Dewhurst. Dew­hurst ordered Patterson to stop the continued leaks, and Patterson refused.

Patrick accused Dewhurst of complicity in the leaks, but the Dewhurst campaign denied that.

The court documents, depositions and exhibits that were part of a 1987 slander suit that Patrick filed against the now-defunct Houston Post, show that Patrick was at the time taking the anti-depressant Impramine and spent several weeks in the Spring Shadows Glen center in Houston. Documents also document at least one reported suicide attempt.

According to the deposition, Patrick also acknowledged he has been in Spring Shadows Glen, a shuttered psychiatric hospital in Houston. He said he wasn't sure exactly when he was there, but that it was in 1984 or 1985 "and for a period of about 10 days."

Insisting he was not there for psychiatric or emotional problems, but, "for rest," Patrick said he "slept, basically, for two weeks," according to the court document.

He also said he had been hospitalized at another facility, Memorial City, in the early 1980s for "fatigue, exhaustion."

Other records show Patrick was admitted to Spring Shadows Glen for "severe depression" after reporting "feelings of worthlessness, helplessness, hopelessness and marked decrease of self-esteem."

That admission was directly related to a suicide attempt on Jan. 14, 1986, according to the records, in which he tried to overdose on an antidepressant medication and slash his right wrist before collapsing and being taken to a local emergency clinic. According to the records, Patrick reported "business and marital problems and difficulties in personal relationships."

In a statement released late Thursday by his campaign consultant, Allen Blakemore, the senator acknowledged he "sought medical attention to help him cope with mild depression and exhaustion" nearly 30 years ago.

"Under the care of a medical doctor, he voluntarily admitted himself for treatment and spent a short time in the hospital," the statement reads. "He has not required additional treatment or medication for nearly 30 years. "This has not been a secret; for years on his radio station, he has regularly talked about depression and discussed the importance of early treatment when dealing with depression. He has done this to help others and remove any social stigma for those who seek or are considering seeking treatment. None felt inclined to write the story."

Patrick released a copy of a 2011 letter from the doctor who treated him, saying he has no remaining issues with depression.

Patrick accused Dewhurst of having the information made public to discredit him in the final days of the campaign.

Most polls show Patrick, an outspoken conservative Houston radio talk show host who has been a senator since 2007, maintains a sizeable lead over Dewhurst in the final days of the runoff campaign. Patrick led the four-candidate GOP primary in March with a double-digit lead over Dewhurst, who has been lieutenant governor since 2003.

Patrick enjoys strong tea-party support, and he and Dewhurst have waged a pitched battle for months over who has the strongest conservative credentials. Tea-party support is considered a key to winning the runoff, and the two politicians have engaged in an increasingly nasty air war with broadcast and cable television ads accusing each other of lying and being unfit for serve in Texas' No. 2 political job.

In his statement, Patrick racheted up his already intense criticism of his rival.

"Now comes David Dewhurst, caked in mud, and oozing sleaze, with his latest personal attack. He unsuccessfully attempted to slime Ted Cruz in 2012. He has desperately tried to slime me throughout the primary. Now, still lagging in the polls, frantic to maintain his hold on public office, he stoops to a new low.

"It is estimated that as many as 30,000,000 Americans suffer from some form of depression and many Texas families are touched by it. For Dewhurst to attempt to use this for political gain is disgusting. He should be ashamed."

In a statement, Dewhurst said: "My heart goes out to Dan and his family for what they've endured while coping with his condition."

Three state senators who have endorsed Patrick and who are medical doctors accused Dewhurst of orchestrating a "sleazy attack."

"A personal attack of this kind sinks to an unprecedented low, shamelessly attempting to embarrass Dan Patrick for seeking the appropriate medical care to treat a minor bout with depression that occurred almost 30 years ago," the three – Sens. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, and Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown – said in a statement released Friday.

"According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, 1 in 10 American adults suffer from some form of depression in their lifetime – something which the perpetrators of this attack apparently believe should disqualify them from serving their communities or contributing to society.

"In the Texas Legislature, we've gone to considerable lengths to increase education about mental health and decrease the stigma associated with seeking the appropriate help when needed. In one desperate attack, those efforts may have been irreparably damaged."

State Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, chairman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and a Patrick supporter, echoed the sentiment in a statement of her own on Friday.

"I was shocked at the recent attack on one of our members, invading his medical privacy - and hitting a new low in Texas politics," she said. "At a time when we are working so hard for society to accept mental health as they would any other medical condition, it is despicable to turn Senator Patrick's private health information from 30 years ago into a campaign issue. We are better than this."