Texas Politician Lina Hidalgo Took a Leave from Work Due to Suicidal Thoughts, Depression — and Paid $88,000 for Treatment

“I wish I’d done it sooner,” she says about her decision to take a break and seek professional help

Texas politician Lina Hidalgo is back to work after taking 9 weeks off to address her mental health and get professional treatment, saying “I do think there’s a world in which I would have killed myself” if she hadn’t taken action.

And now, the Democrat, 32, is talking about her experience to help reduce the stigma around depression — and the staggering cost of treatment.

“It was around $88,000,” Hidalgo told CBS Mornings on Friday. “This is where I stop and say, ‘I don’t have $88,000.’”

While her longtime boyfriend used his savings to pay for most of her medical bills, "We are not in a great financial position right now,” she says. “We're fighting the insurance company,"

But Hidalgo says she didn’t have any other choice, seeking professional treatment at a Ohio facility only after exhausting all other options.

“I just felt so trapped,” she told CBS News. “I exercise. I sleep well. I eat well. I have a psychologist. I have a psychiatrist. What else do I do? There’s no way out.”

“I’m still feeling so down and so empty, and so sad.”

She says that initially, she didn’t think she could take a leave of absence for treatment.

“People said, 'No, you’re an executive. Politically, you'd never survive it.'”

It was only after Pennsylvania’s Senator John Fetterman took a leave of absence to seek treatment for his own depression struggle that Hidalgo realized she could seek treatment and retain her high-pressure job.

Related: Simon Cowell Says a 'Weight Has Lifted' After Opening Up About His Journey with Depression and Therapy

As the first woman and the first Latina elected as the Harris County judge, Hidalgo runs the entire county of 5 million people — which includes Houston — and its $4 billion budget.

After winning over an 11-year incumbent in an upset 2018 election, Hidalgo is now responsible for emergency management, which means she's in charge when disasters strike, whether that comes in the form of chemical fires, floods, a pandemic or power grid failures during a historic winter storm.

This past July — right when a mural in her honor was being unveiled — the suicidal thoughts she experienced when dropping out of law school returned “worse than ever before.”

After attending the mural presentation, Hidalgo flew to the Ohio treatment center, saying, “I’m sick, I gotta go.”

Prioritizing her mental health over her constituents was a challenge, she says, but “I had to make myself stop thinking about that because I never would have left.”

And now, she’s hoping that sharing her story will help with the “stigma around mental health.”

“The goal is for folks to see it as no different than a politician who suffers from high blood pressure…or has had a heart attack.”

Related: Dove Cameron Recalls Feeling 'Incredibly Suicidal,' Talks 'Shame and Stigma' Around Mental Health Issues

And as for those who say her leave of absence is a reason to step down, Hidalgo says, “I feel better than ever now, and I wish I’d done it sooner. That was part of the shame.”

“I’m so committed. I’m more determined to stay in politics,” she says, and has a message for her critics.

“Folks are scared of me for a reason, so I’m not going to put those fears away just yet.”

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