"Under the guidance of my doctors, today I’m entering a treatment facility in Arizona that specializes in mood disorders. Mental illness is a fluid and dynamic disease that calls for unexpected and prolonged treatment. Like the tens of millions of Americans that suffer from mental illness, I did not choose this disease, but I am choosing to treat it aggressively and openly in an effort to provide transparency from our office, and to encourage others living with similar struggles to be proactive in treatment and not live in shame. I’m committed to making my health the top priority so I can honor my commitment of service to Dallas County. I’m blessed to have the continued and steadfast support of my leadership team and colleagues at the DA’s office, and I thank them for their hard work in serving our citizens in my absence."Since becoming district attorney in January 2015, Hawk has twice admitted herself for mental health treatment. Last fall, she checked herself into the Menninger Clinic for the first time because, Hawk later said, she was going through severe depression and suicidal ideation. After missing a series of events in May, she went back to Menninger to seek further depression treatment.
Hawk also sought treatment for a painkiller addiction in Arizona in the midst of her successful 2014 run to unseat incumbent district attorney Craig Watkins.
According to her office, Hawk is working with her doctors to create an effective treatment plan that will include a timeline for her return to work. No specifics of that timeline, or even whether it exists, have been disclosed.
