A recently published study demonstrates a link between Lyme disease and an increased risk for suicide.
At a time when the suicide rate for teenagers is increasing, and the incidence of tick-borne diseases is also increasing, it’s important for parents of young people with Lyme disease to inform themselves on this difficult subject.
During my years of working as a hospital physical therapist, I witnessed many patients who suffered such physical and emotional pain that they said death would be a welcome relief. I encountered this most often with traumatic injuries like spinal cord injuries and burn victims.
Yet, until Lyme disease struck my own family, I had no idea that it could give rise to the same feelings of despair. That all ended with a bang in 2012, when my daughter’s health seriously deteriorated. Since then, after years of living with the damage caused by late-diagnosed Lyme and co-infections, my own child suffered a deep depression. Pain, fatigue, and the loss of friendships was extremely difficult, but she says the loss of her personal dreams was the hardest for her to cope with.
During the darkest months of her illness she shared:
This isn’t where I thought I’d be by this age. This isn’t what I’d imagined. This isn’t what I’d always hoped for. I had so many hopes and dreams, and it’s all just gone. It’s all so heartbreaking and disappointing and unexpected that I don’t even know how to really cope with it.…Join or login below to continue reading.
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