719-622-6522If you’ve had thoughts about suicide or self-harm, you shouldn’t brush them aside. Instead, you should seek help from a professional. Learn more about the seriousness of suicidal ideation and how to treat it.
Suicidal ideation encompasses thoughts and feelings about suicide or self-harm. If you suffer a mental illness like depression or recently underwent a tragedy like the death of a loved one, you may feel like there’s no way you can go on.
At Colorado Recovery Solutions located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Ashley Johnson, DO, and our compassionate, expert team wants you to understand that you shouldn’t take suicidal ideation lightly.
Explaining suicidal ideation
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death, and suicidal ideation is also common among the 12.2 million reported considering suicide in 2020. The two types of suicidal ideation are passive and active. While passive suicidal ideation means you’re having thoughts about suicide but not carrying them out, active suicidal ideation means you plan to follow through on your suicidal thoughts. Passive and active suicidal ideation are equally serious. Some signs of suicidal ideation include:
- Isolating yourself from your loved ones
- Starting to give away your possessions
- Increased mood swings and irritability
- Engaging in high-risk behavior
However, not everyone experiences these symptoms. Thoughts and feelings that can put you at risk for suicidal ideation include a lack of hope for the future, thinking it’s impossible to get through what you’re facing, or that your circumstances will never go away. Taking certain prescription drugs or having a family history of suicide can also increase your risk of suicidal ideation.
Treating suicidal ideation
Suicidal ideation is extremely serious. At Colorado Recovery Solutions, we offer some ways to help combat suicidal ideation. Several treatments we offer include ketamine, Spravato®, and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). While these typically treat treatment-resistant depression, they can also treat severe depression that causes suicidal ideation.
Ketamine
Ketamine is a medication used for years as an anesthetic. However, when it’s used in addition to medications like antidepressants and talk therapies, it can be very effective at combating symptoms of depression, like suicidal ideation. Our team offers ketamine IV infusions to relieve you from your depression symptoms that can last for weeks at a time.
Spravato
Spravato is an FDA-approved nasal spray that contains esketamine derived from ketamine. This treatment can give you relief within a few hours and is effective at combating severe forms of depression and the symptoms that come with it.
TMS
TMS relieves symptoms of depression by making unused portions of your brain wake up by stimulating them electromagnetically. This process causes critical neurotransmitters in your brain to begin firing again, like those that control mood.
Contact our team today if you’re ready to take steps to fight against suicidal ideation. To schedule an appointment to discuss treatment options, call us at 719-622-6522 or use our online booking tool today.
