Letterman has a special place in my heart. I grew up watching him and Conan. Conan was the absurd side of me, and Letterman was the cranky side of me. He was like the grandpa I never had and always wanted. Cranky like me. We could sit on a porch, talk, and cackle.
His interview in Rolling Stone discusses his struggles with both depression and anxiety:
For years and years and years — 30, 40 years — I was anxious, and hypochondriacal, and an alcoholic, and many, many other things that made me different from other people. The hypochondriacal behavior . . . it sounds stupid, but it was killing me! Doctors kept telling me not to come back. 'Really, Dave. There's nothing.' Finally, I found out it's all a manifestation of anxiety. Once you realize that, you can self-monitor. Which I've found very useful.
Though he avoided medication for years, he eventually started taking antidepressants 25 years ago.
I was suspicious, and sceptical, and nervous about it. But it changed my life. I used to have kind of a hair trigger; I used to put my fist through Sheetrock.
He says he's much happier now, and has let a lot go. He goes to talk therapy, he practices meditation. If you're a Letterman fan, it's a nice read. I just think it's nice to read something about a 68 year-old person with mental health struggles, doing more than what he referred to as years of just "enduring" life.
