When a loved one dies by suicide, it’s common for mourners to blame other people or themselves, and struggle to understand “why they did it.” I don’t hypothesize the “whys” or “hows”: We talked many times about why life was painful for him, and he didn’t believe anything would change to allow for healing. Brian’s death is the most painful thing I’ve ever felt, but it was not shocking. (To protect the privacy of his family and friends, I’m not using Brian’s real name.)

A mental health crisis existed before the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in 590,000 deaths in the U.S. thus far and 29% of those unemployed this spring having been jobless for at least a year, but the mismanagement of a pandemic compounded stressors that led many people to die by suicide.