Amid the coronavirus lockdown, a 12-year-old from Texas committed suicide inside his bedroom. His father recently gave a message to all parents affected by the quarantine to look after their children. He also blames the government's action of prohibiting going out as the main reason for his son's depression which led to his death.
12-year-old son committed suicide amid COVID-19; Father blames lockdown
The father and business owner from Parker County in Texas, Brad Hunstable, now shares messages to all parents around the world about the mental health issues experienced by young children amid the lockdown.
Brad said that the main reason behind his son, Hayden's, suicide last month is the fact that he was forced to stay at home during the coronavirus lockdown. This resulted in his depression which exacerbated his desire to end his own life.
"This is a kid who loved life, was the life of the party," Brad Hunstable said of his son. "I know this. My son would be alive if he was in school. He didn't like the isolation. He didn't like being at home."
Before the incident happened, Brad said that Hayden had no symptoms of depression. However, he also said that Hayden seemed to be affected by the loss of communication with his friends and the change in his routine.
Three days before Hayden's 13th birthday, the younger child of Brad came downstairs from Hayden's room and said, "Hayden, hung himself."
Father blames lockdown
In an interview on Fox News, Brad said that the suicide of his son was mainly related to the coronavirus, but not with the virus itself--but with the effect of the isolation to his kid.
He even supported this claim by saying that the second leading death in the United States is suicide. According to him, as 10-year-olds up to 34-year-olds die because of suicide. Almost 80% of these are a result of impulsive decision-making.
Brad also advises parents to let their children go outside for a walk or do some chores together to give children the chance to talk about the issues that are bothering them, the feelings they're experiencing, how they're reacting to the events around them.
Suicides in the midst of the pandemic
Brad's son is not the only one that has or is suffering from depression amidst the coronavirus. In March, Tech Times reported that an Italian nurse faced her own death by ending her life after being tested with positive COVID-19.
Reports claimed that she feared that she might have transferred the virus to someone else by being alive. This forced her to commit suicide to protect other people around her.
ALSO READ: US Suicide Rate Keeps Climbing: Here Are 2 Major Reasons Why
UPDATE:
Aside from suicide cases, Telegraph U.K. also shared that more than a million women and children could die in the next year as the risks of other diseases like malaria, pneumonia, or diarrhea may occur soon due to lockdown.
And it "far outweighs any threat presented by the coronavirus."
Is this mean that the cure presented in lockdowns may not be good for everyone at all?
