The longer or more frequently you think about suicide, the harder it can be to overcome. Then, your risk of committing suicide increases, and that’s a risk everyone must take seriously.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death in 25 to 34-year-olds. Between the ages of 34 to 44, suicide is the fourth most common cause of death.
Even if you’ve tried treatments for depression and still have suicidal ideation, don’t give up. Our Palo Alto Mind Body team specializes in suicide prevention and helping people overcome chronic suicidal ideation.
We offer advanced therapies, including treatments that can rapidly reduce or eliminate thoughts of suicide.
Suicidal ideation means you have thoughts of not wanting to be around or explicit thoughts of killing yourself. When suicidal thoughts are chronic, you have them persistently for an extended period of time.
Suicidal ideation most often arises from depression. However, other challenges may also cause suicidal thoughts, including anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance use disorders, and chronic pain.
No matter the cause, feelings of hopelessness, despair, and pain — and being unable to find a solution for or way out of the problem — can lead to suicidal ideation.
At that stage, you aren’t just dealing with dark moods, emotions, and thoughts. There is often an associated imbalance in brain chemicals. As long as that imbalance remains, your struggles persist.
It’s essential to seek treatment from a highly qualified mental health professional. That’s where we can help. We create customized treatment plans supporting your ability to overcome these challenges and restore a purposeful life.
The first line of treatment for depression (and other mental health conditions that cause suicidal thoughts) is medications and psychotherapy (talk therapy).
While these things will likely be an important part of your treatment plan, they take time to work. If you have chronic suicidal ideation, you may also benefit from treatments that produce more rapid improvements.
We specialize in advanced treatment with ketamine and esketamine that can produce rapid results, quickly improving your mood and eliminating suicidal thoughts within hours or a few days.
Ketamine and esketamine (S-ketamine) can both be used for treatment-resistant depression and suicidal ideation.
Ketamine is an anesthetic medication. However, when used in low (sub-anesthetic) doses, it quickly reaches the brain to restore chemical imbalances underlying chronic suicidal ideation and depression.
Ketamine produces fast results because it doesn’t target the same brain chemicals as other medications. Traditional antidepressants take weeks or months to restore levels of serotonin and dopamine.
By comparison, ketamine instead activates glutamate, the primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain. It is hypothesized that through this mechanism, ketamine improves nerve communication and produces rapid behavioral effects.
We administer ketamine through an intravenous (IV) infusion, which allows us to control the dose precisely. Sending ketamine directly to your bloodstream bypasses the digestive tract, so it maximizes absorption and quickly reaches your brain.
Many patients find their suicidal ideation improves within a few hours of their first ketamine treatment. However, a series of IV ketamine sessions are usually needed to maximize results.
Ketamine consists of two molecules (R-ketamine and S-ketamine) that are mirror images of one another. Esketamine only contains the S-ketamine molecule, which makes it more potent. As a result, we can use lower doses and reduce the risk of side effects.
Esketamine is available as a nasal spray called Spravato® and is FDA-approved for treatment-resistant depression and in depressed patients with suicidal ideation.
The tissues inside your nose rapidly absorb the medication and send it through your bloodstream to your brain. Inside your brain, Spravato is thought to have a similar effect as ketamine.
Though Spravato is a nasal spray, you must take it in a medical office so that we can monitor your response and treat side effects such as dizziness, sleepiness, anxiety, dissociation, and high blood pressure.
Patients can experience results within 24 hours after their first Spravato treatment. You take Spravato twice weekly for four weeks. Then, we evaluate its effectiveness.
If you have a good response to treatment, you’ll continue maintenance treatments (weekly or every-other-week) to sustain those improvements.
Our Palo Alto Mind Body team offers compassionate and expert care for depression and suicidal thoughts. Call the office, or use online booking to request a telehealth or in-person consultation.
There is hope. People may attempt suicide when they feel they have no other option to stop the pain. There are always other options: meds, therapy, ketamine, Spravato, TMS, VNS, DBS, etc, etc. You have options. Reach out, and let’s discuss.
If you are experiencing active thoughts of harming yourself or feel you cannot keep yourself safe, please seek emergent care by calling 911 or presenting to the nearest hospital emergency department. Esketamine/Ketamine treatment does not preclude the need for hospitalization if clinically warranted. To speak with a crisis counselor, call or text the 988 Lifeline anytime.
