LYNCHBURG, VA – For Melissa Graham, her son Walker was more than her child. From the moment he was born, he was her best friend.
“We bonded immediately. He was a mama’s boy,” Graham said.
A big personality made way for humor and creativity, Graham tells 10 News she adored.
“Oh, he had such a quick wit. I like to think that I’m funny but I couldn’t go to toe to toe with him,” she said.
But when Covid hit, that personality she loved changed virtually overnight.
“Our lives kept going but he was stuck,” she said.
“Did you have any idea that anything was going on?” 10 News Reporter Abbie Coleman asked.
“I knew that he was struggling with depression. We were working on that diligently... It was a big shock. I felt like we were over the hump,” Graham said.
He was 16 when he took his life.
“Before we knew it, it was a deep pain for him,” she said.
Walker’s story is far from the only one. Kim Plourde is a mental health professional with Thriveworks and tells us since the pandemic, teen depression and suicide have skyrocketed.
“It increased pressure at home, and then pressure in school, which creates anxiety in kids,” Plourde said.
For Graham, it was hard to pick out what was a red flag, and what was just normal teenage behavior.
“He was a teenager. He doesn’t want to tell his mom now about his whole day,” Graham said.
“How do we differentiate between what is normal growing up, and what is something more serious?” Coleman said.
“I think today, you have to take everything serious. Pay attention to any change in typical behavior. Even if we call it developmental change, pay attention to it,” Plourde said.
“How do they have that conversation with their child?” Coleman asked.
“The first thing is checking in with their emotions and breathing and trying to stay calm in the moment, so they can relay a sense of ‘I care about you,’” Plourde said.
Graham doesn’t want suicide to be taboo. She’s using Walker’s death to highlight the bigger problem.
”Maybe I can save someone else. They put me here for a reason, so that has to be my reason,” she said.
We’ve compiled a list of mental health resources right here in Southwest Virginia that you can find here.
If you are in crisis or are in need of immediate help, call the National Suicide Hotline at 988.