RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Virginia state senator who was attacked by his son before he killed himself says the stigma attached to mental health issues leaves the mentally ill to “struggle in silence.”

Sen. R. Creigh (KREE) Deeds appeared Monday on “CBS This Morning” to discuss his difficulty in getting his son Austin “Gus” Deeds treatment before the Nov. 19 knife attack at their isolated Bath County homestead. Deeds said his 24-year-old son’s mental illness began to manifest itself after he had turned 18.