Former Senior CIA Officers Describe Their Mental Health Struggles

They discuss how they got help amid high stress jobs. The CIA's Director of Medical Services says she sees anxiety, depression, and family problems.

Imagine you're a Black intelligence officer in a foreign country, tasked with recruiting a person who's profiting from slave labor; or spending your nights at the office, watching drone footage of explosions after your mother dies of cancer. 

Janaki Kates, a former senior intelligence officer at the CIA, and other former senior intelligence officers spoke with Newsy for this story. They have never shared their mental health challenges with a news organization.  

NEWSY'S SASHA INGBER: Do you think that people on the outside understand what intelligence officers go through?