COVID long-haulers are killing themselves as symptoms become too painful to bear — but support groups offer relief

A sign for a COVID-19 isolation centre in Markham, Ontario, Canada on April 14, 2021. 

Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto via Getty Images

Months of suffering from "long-haul" COVID symptoms can cause sufferers to develop severe depression and anxiety, and even suicidal ideation. 

Texas Roadhouse CEO Kent Taylor's death by suicide last month highlighted COVID's severe toll on mental health. 

"After a battle with post-Covid related symptoms, including severe tinnitus, Kent Taylor took his own life this week," Taylor's family said in a company-issued statement Friday. 

"Kent battled and fought hard like the former track champion that he was, but the suffering that greatly intensified in recent days became unbearable," the statement continued. 

Taylor was among many who have struggled to cope with the debilitating long-term effects of COVID: Tinnitus, constant "brain fog" and memory loss, and endless fatigue.

These symptoms — and how people can manage them in the long term — are still being studied, as the number of COVID cases crosses the 30 million mark in the US. 

Read more: https://www.insider.com/long-term-covid-sufferers-are-killing-themselves-heres-why-2021-4