Have you heard? Ketamine Treatment Stops Suicidal Thinking Fast

Sometimes, after suffering with the symptoms of depression, or anxiety or the crushing weight of fear, suicidal thoughts arise in some people as an expression of their desperation. 

Suicidal thoughts — what we call suicidal ideation — refers to thoughts dying or death as a relief, thoughts of wanting to die, and thoughts of suicide itself. Some people have recurrent, intruding thoughts about being dead, and begin to think about killing themselves.  Some make plans.

Suicidal Thoughts vs. Suicide Plans

Suicidal thoughts may include fleeting images, or details plans about a way to kill yourself, but thoughts don’t have to progress to the act itself … and may never lead to that.  Nevertheless, suicidal thinking is dangerous because it can lead to a suicide attempt and to dying by suicide.

Anyone who thoughtfully considers or researches or plots a plan to end her life or his life should be taken seriously, and needs treatment. Keeping someone who is suicidal safe and getting suicidal thoughts to stop is the first and foremost goal of treatment so that we can have time to treat the underlying depression or anxiety or agitation.

Suicide helplines in the US are staffed 24/7 with crisis counsellors who can help. Call The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1.800.273-TALK(8255).

911, the emergency room, and the hospital can be the safest routes for people who are overwhelmed by their suicidal thoughts or plans — safety comes first. And they may be the best options if you don’t feel safe … or worry that you might act on your thoughts.

But what if you don’t need to be, and don’t want to be, in the hospital or the ER? What if you just need to make the thoughts stop fast enough and long enough for more extensive treatment to really help? What if you just need to buy time so that everything else that you are doing for yourself can work?

Enter IV ketamine treatment.

Ketamine Treatment Stops Suicidal Thinking Fast

The only medicine available at this time that can stop suicidal ideation quickly is ketamine treatment.  It can stop suicidal thoughts within minutes, or a couple of hours.  Once you’re out of danger, you can really begin to engage in further treatment and psychotherapy. You can breathe a sign of relief. You can breathe.

If you have thoughts about dying, it may be that you’ve suffered under the weight of your current state for so long that you don’t really think that life can get better.  Or, maybe you feel an intense need for relief from the suffering you experience daily, and you know that you don’t want to live like this anymore.

Either way, there is hope.  It really is possible to reduce your pain, up your coping, reverse your symptoms … to catch a break, catch your breath … save your life — whether you have a mood disorder, an anxiety disorder, or an addiction.

Sometimes you don’t even know anymore because you feel like such a mess.

Know Someone Who Has Attempted Suicide?

If you love someone who speaks often of death or dying, RESIST the temptation to tell them they’re only looking for attention. This dangerous response can drive a person who has not acted on their suicidal thoughts to take a deadly step.

ANYONE who attempts suicide is in a dangerous state of mind and needs intervention. 30,000 people kill themselves in the US every year.  Of those, 50% had a diagnosed psychiatric disorder present. And, of those 30,000, 4 out of 5 are men.

The American Psychiatric Association says, “Depressed patients who attempt suicide four or more times have a higher risk of eventually dying by suicide compared with their depressed peers who have never attempted suicide or who have done so fewer times.”

Suicidal thoughts that have not progressed beyond being just thoughts are where hope lives. When thinking about death and dying creep in because of the pain you’re in … because your pain outweighs your coping at the moment … if you don’t want to think those thoughts and don’t intend to act: hope lives right in that space. Because we have time to get those dark thoughts to stop.  

So ask for help.

If you or someone you love thinks often about dying, hope is here for you. Ketamine treatment can help you stop thinking about suicide, and thinking about dying … it can help you.  We can help erase those thoughts from your mind so you can focus on getting better.

Don’t wait. Be safe. Reach out. Call us.