Washington (Trends Wide) — Monica Lewinsky reflected on the mental health struggles she endured in the 1990s amid the scandal surrounding her affair with then-President Bill Clinton, detailing in a new interview the damage she suffered and how she has regained her history over the years. later.
Lewinsky, a former White House grantee, told Trends Wide’s David Axelrod in an episode of “The Ax Files” podcast released Thursday that the investigation into the scandal, which captured the nation’s attention for years and ultimately led to to Clinton’s impeachment process, it made him have suicidal ideas.
“I just couldn’t see a way out. And I thought maybe that was the solution,” she said, explaining how she had asked the attorneys working for then-freelance attorney Ken Starr about what would happen if she died.
Now, he said, he thinks about his experience and asks: “How was there no protocol?” to face a situation like yours. “That’s a point where you’re supposed to bring in a psychologist or, you know, something,” he said.
New attention to the Clinton scandal
Lewinsky’s comments come at a time when new attention is being paid to the affair he had with Clinton at age 22 while working in his administration. The twists and turns of the scandal are being dramatized in “Impeachment: American Crime Story,” a new FX series for which Lewinsky is a producer.
Lewinsky told Axelrod that after Starr, who had also been investigating other Clinton-related matters, began looking into the matter, she began seeing a forensic psychiatrist, a move that helped her get through the ordeal.
“I think a lot of people who have had suicidal ideas find themselves in a moment where it’s … it’s a moment of grace, like, you know, two roads that part in the woods,” he said. “And the forensic psychiatrist picked up the phone. And so I was, you know, pretty, pretty lucky.”
In a 2014 essay published in Vanity Fair, Lewinsky said that she had never attempted suicide, but had “strong suicidal temptations several times during the investigation and a period or two afterward.”
Lewinsky, who has spoken publicly in recent years about how his view of the affair changed during the #MeToo movement and how he fought for years to combat having his life defined by the affair, told Axelrod that his work on the new series has helped her efforts to reclaim her history
“My narrative was stolen and then I lost it for trying to go back, for trying to run away from everything that had happened for many years,” he said, adding that part of the “work” he had to do was accept that he would have to face his past. .
“This story is about real people and I’m involved in it, but it’s also about something bigger. It reflects something bigger in our society. And so, as our society changes, there are different ways this story feels relevant. Lewinsky said.
Clinton said in a documentary released last year that she feels “terrible” because the issue “unfairly” defined Lewinsky’s life. His impeachment, sparked by his lying about the relationship during a deposition, ended with the Senate acquittal.
Editor’s Note: If you or a loved one has contemplated suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Line at 1-800-273-8255 or text TALK to 741741. The International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide also provide contact information for crisis centers around the world.
Washington (Trends Wide) — Monica Lewinsky reflected on the mental health struggles she endured in the 1990s amid the scandal surrounding her affair with then-President Bill Clinton, detailing in a new interview the damage she suffered and how she has regained her history over the years. later.
Lewinsky, a former White House grantee, told Trends Wide’s David Axelrod in an episode of “The Ax Files” podcast released Thursday that the investigation into the scandal, which captured the nation’s attention for years and ultimately led to to Clinton’s impeachment process, it made him have suicidal ideas.
“I just couldn’t see a way out. And I thought maybe that was the solution,” she said, explaining how she had asked the attorneys working for then-freelance attorney Ken Starr about what would happen if she died.
Now, he said, he thinks about his experience and asks: “How was there no protocol?” to face a situation like yours. “That’s a point where you’re supposed to bring in a psychologist or, you know, something,” he said.
New attention to the Clinton scandal
Lewinsky’s comments come at a time when new attention is being paid to the affair he had with Clinton at age 22 while working in his administration. The twists and turns of the scandal are being dramatized in “Impeachment: American Crime Story,” a new FX series for which Lewinsky is a producer.
Lewinsky told Axelrod that after Starr, who had also been investigating other Clinton-related matters, began looking into the matter, she began seeing a forensic psychiatrist, a move that helped her get through the ordeal.
“I think a lot of people who have had suicidal ideas find themselves in a moment where it’s … it’s a moment of grace, like, you know, two roads that part in the woods,” he said. “And the forensic psychiatrist picked up the phone. And so I was, you know, pretty, pretty lucky.”
In a 2014 essay published in Vanity Fair, Lewinsky said that she had never attempted suicide, but had “strong suicidal temptations several times during the investigation and a period or two afterward.”
Lewinsky, who has spoken publicly in recent years about how his view of the affair changed during the #MeToo movement and how he fought for years to combat having his life defined by the affair, told Axelrod that his work on the new series has helped her efforts to reclaim her history
“My narrative was stolen and then I lost it for trying to go back, for trying to run away from everything that had happened for many years,” he said, adding that part of the “work” he had to do was accept that he would have to face his past. .
“This story is about real people and I’m involved in it, but it’s also about something bigger. It reflects something bigger in our society. And so, as our society changes, there are different ways this story feels relevant. Lewinsky said.
Clinton said in a documentary released last year that she feels “terrible” because the issue “unfairly” defined Lewinsky’s life. His impeachment, sparked by his lying about the relationship during a deposition, ended with the Senate acquittal.
Editor’s Note: If you or a loved one has contemplated suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Line at 1-800-273-8255 or text TALK to 741741. The International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide also provide contact information for crisis centers around the world.