I wish I remembered more about the onset of my mental illnesses nearly 20 years ago.

I wish I could put a date – or even a year – to it. But I know I was in my early 40s when something wasn’t right. The onset of these diseases is obscured by a dense fog, a loss of memory, the passage of time. Journals and records are packed in boxes.

I have been thinking about those early days, especially so this summer, because of U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. He began a mysterious medical leave from Congress almost 10 weeks ago because of “exhaustion,” which became “emotional ailments,” which became a “mood disorder,” which became “depression.”