Stress, depression and the CEO

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- They're both leaders in their field, who kept a shared secret. 60-year-old Tom Johnson, former CEO of CNN. 83-year-old J. B. Fuqua, one of Georgia's most prominent businessmen and philanthropists.

"I met J.B. Fuqua in the early 60's. I was then a young reporter and he was the chairman of the democratic party of Georgia," recalls Tom Johnson.

From that early meeting they kept a friendship as Johnson went on to be publisher of the Los Angeles Times, before running CNN. Fuqua helped elect governors and presidents while building a fortune collecting and selling businesses. Now, he gives it away -- more than 100-million dollars in charity in recent years.

True Blue If you feel that way - all day - for 2 weeks, look for at least 5 of these symptoms: Changes in appetite and weight Changes in sleep pattern Lack of enthusiasm Lack of pleasure from usual activities Restlessness or irritability Feelings of worthlessness or guilt Difficulty thinking, concentrating, making decisions Thoughts of death or suicide MORE STORIES Stress and depression are the focus of this weekend's Your Health  on Saturday at 2:30pm EST

They shared tremendous success -- and for years -- a deep secret: depression.

"Along the way I saw the evidence that J.B. was dealing with depression. I was coping with my own depression" said Johnson, "It was not so difficult to bring it up with J.B. because I knew I was almost with a fellow traveler on this very tough journey."

Now the two friends have gone public in Fuqua's memoir. Johnson wrote the Forward.

They kept their secret because of the stigma associated with mental illness. Only their families and closest friends knew.

"I thought it might adversely affect my business relationships or my personal relationships," said J. B. Fuqua, "My family knew. I'm sure that some people suspected, but didn't know. They thought I was a little peculiar, particularly when I would go for long periods of just total silence."

Fuqua struggled with severe depression for more than fifty years.

"I would sometimes cancel engagements for no reason whatsoever. Cancel important meetings sometimes. I didn't want to go out, be in a group of people, just wanted to be left alone," said Fuqua "I just wanted to go to bed and sleep. And I slept a great deal. A depressed person knows that when they're asleep nothing bad can happen."

Fuqua can't say what triggered his frequent bouts of depression, which got more severe as he grew older. For Tom Johnson, stress appeared to take the greatest toll.

"There was a big trigger for me. I was ousted as publisher of the Los Angeles Times in 1989," said Johnson, "so much of my self worth was tied with my position. It felt like I was being enveloped in darkness. It was a sense of loss of enthusiasm, a loss of happiness, a significant decline in self worth."

Dr. Charles Nemeroff, who has treated both Johnson and Fuqua says stress is a major factor for everyone and a CEO's higher stress level makes them more vulnerable to depression.

"They drive themselves inordinately more than other individuals do," said Dr. Charles Nemeroff, Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine.

"So they tend not to take as good care of themselves, both physically and psychologically, and in the end that takes a toll. There's another factor that we don't often think about and that's the frequent travel, the jumping across time zones, jet lag. We know that disruption in sleep-wake cycles is another precipitant for depression."

Johnson did not want to get treatment, instead he thought he could 'tough it out.'

"I think that's almost an immediate reaction by people who have accomplished a lot in their lives. I had always just taken on every challenge that I could take on," said Johnson.

Nemeroff says it's hard for men to ask for help, and even harder for those in leadership positions.

"They view this not as a true disorder but as some kind of weakness of character, and if only they could just pull themselves up by their bootstraps they would be fine," said Nemeroff. "And for them, asking for help is a sign of weakness. When in fact, they've asked for help many times in their professional careers to solve problems."

And CEO's are experts at surrounding themselves with the best people who can help mask their condition. Johnson had his assistants plan meetings around his down times.

"I just felt that you didn't want a leader who was at times going into his side office, lying on the floor, putting a pillow on his head," said Johnson.

Johnson's wife pulled him into treatment after he lost his job as publisher of the L.A. Times. But he says, it wasn't until he moved to Atlanta and his job at CNN that he found a treatment that worked for him: talk therapy and the drug, Effexor.

"I don't want to suggest to anybody that it will work for them, but it has worked for me, it really has enabled me to get back to where I honestly feel like the person I was before it all hit," said Johnson. "I just want everyone to know you can deal with it and deal with it successfully. Don't give up hope."

Medications did not work for J. B. Fuqua. Five years ago he tried ECT -- or shock therapy -- an effective treatment with its own stigma.

"It cured me from having bouts of serious depression," said Fuqua, "it is a simple, painless procedure."

"ECT works in many patients in which anti-depressants don't work. ECT works faster than anti-depressants, and after 40 years we still don't know exactly how it works," said Nemeroff.

The stigma of ECT is largely due to its portrayal in the movies 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' and 'A Beautiful Mind.'

"They unfortunately depicted ECT in a barbaric, primitive and completely unrealistic view," said Nemeroff.

Today, semi-retired, Fuqua says he's happier than he's ever been. "For a man of my age, I think I feel good. I'm happy," said Fuqua.

"My last several years at CNN were years when I felt like my old self," said Johnson "back to the person that I was in my 20's and 30's, my very best years."

But, still at the top of his game, Johnson retired from CNN last year.

"I needed to escape from stress before stress took me down again," said Johnson.

Tom Johnson and J. B. Fuqua devoted their lives to leading people and businesses. The next chapter: leading others to treatment and eliminating the stigma of depression.