Less than three decades ago depression was shrouded in secrecy - a skeleton in the closet triggering guilt, shame and stigma. But Tipper Gore is using her own experience to try to change all that. In 1972, the disease had suddenly caused a political storm. That was the end of Eagleton's chance at the vice presidency. But much has changed in the past quarter century.
Depression is more widely understood and is finally beginning to come out of the closet.
The woman who could be the next first lady, Tipper Gore, is talking openly about her encounter with the disease. It was just last year that Gore went public about her depression and she has since become a national spokesperson on the illness. I received treatment, which included medication and therapy. Gore says there's more acceptance of depression today and she points to some of those in politics who have gone public and survived, like Congressman Patrick Kennedy and the late governor of Florida, Lawton Chiles. If they know about it and they've been treated, and been treated successfully, I think that we have to make the judgment about them in the context of their career and where they are.