Shining a Light on Depression: Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment

by | | Depression, Anxiety, General, Mental Illness

Ketamine Health Centers facilitates a holistic approach to the mental health landscape, offering alternative paths to healing by highlighting an integrative (whole person) development of the Self. We provide support and cutting-edge treatment for mental illness and a wide range of mental health challenges. This space helps support ways to expand overall wellness and modes of creating a healthy daily life. A doorway really, through which to explore a variety of methods of engagement with yourself and the larger world that can help bring balance or create fulfillment through insight and increased self-awareness.

As a team, we help you establish effective ways to incorporate wellness practices for emotional and mental strength as a preventative measure against mental illness. We broaden the therapeutic landscape of mental healthcare by offering cutting-edge treatment options for depression, PTSD, chronic pain, migraines, and other debilitating conditions, and deepen it by together exploring our mindscapes from ideas to practice, and ultimately to community building through personal growth. Provided with the necessary professional support when needed, you will find that you can live your best life, even amidst the hardships that you face.

In October, we focus on the importance of mental health screening as a preventative measure to curb mental illness, addressing the rapid rise of depression and anxiety in our society. We also nationally promote awareness to destigmatize mental illness in general, by designating Mental Illness Awareness Week in early October, 2^nd-8^th.

I encourage you to visit NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, for ideas on how to get involved this month. Contact your local health department for ways to support activities in your community that promotes mental illness awareness and prevention. Or simply reach out to a neighbor, coworker, or family member for a friendly, loving “checking-in” visit. Reach out to a trusted friend if you need some “pick-me-up” energy to get you through a difficult time.

A helpful place to begin a review of resources to screen for depression is the National Library of Medicine. This page begins with a breakdown of the most common types of depression illnesses, with signs to indicate who would benefit from depression screening, as well as details of what to expect during a screening (which should include a physical exam to identify – and possibly rule out – physiological issues).

Reach out to your primary care physician, or contact Ketamine Health Centers (1-833-964-9750) to schedule a screening if you experience one (or a combination of) these symptoms:

Loss of interest or lack of pleasure in daily living or in any number of activities
Feelings of guilt or worthlessness
Quick to anger, flashes of frustration, or increased irritability
Trouble falling asleep and/or staying asleep (insomnia) or sleeping too much
Fatigue and lack of energy or restlessness
Trouble concentrating or making decisions
Losing or gaining a lot of weight

Reach out immediately to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) if you are experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm.

So many varieties of activities can help in the prevention of depression. Just about any activity done outside in a peaceful, or nature-rich environment can provide a holistic energy boost, with activities undertaken in water providing even more deeply felt healing properties. Movement-based activities such as swimming, walking, dancing, or any sport or cardio work will release endorphins and increase serotonin levels at the physiological level, and provide joy and connection within us (radiating out as well) at the energetic level. These activities help connect us with the vibrational ground that supports us. Some activities, such as walking barefoot on the beach, or other types of direct connection with the earth, can literally energize us from the ground up.

Creating any form of art, or specific art or music therapy can engage you deeply and on a spiritual and sublime level that resonates through your whole being and provides a healing flow state. These deeply felt moments of creativity and expression help us reach heights of our human condition that are ineffable and deeply moving, as ways to craft meaning and purpose.

Building momentum within us and around us creates a cognitive and emotional state that helps establish that overall feeling of connection that signals our mental wellness. Engaging in group activities brings you in direct connection with other individuals and can create a much-needed sense of community and engagement with others. These relationships form the basis of friendships that provide support and social ties that buoy us during stormy weather. Of course, these activities are important for the mitigation of depression as well.

A recent suggestion to help us connect with our surroundings more intimately is the practice of field sketching, which can bring fulfillment to an otherwise detached mode of living if there is often a screen mediating our reality. I love this idea, and I see it as a holistic practice to bring perspective and grounding to one’s life. This practice forces you to slow down and take in your space at a more detailed level of seeing, hearing, feeling, and provides a window into new perspectives that then ask of you to move in these spaces with greater awareness, and hopefully with more intentionality. I plan to add this practice, and more art therapy in general, to my depression prevention toolbox. I too have had to learn to manage my depression (an illness that runs in my family) throughout my entire life. Finding new techniques helps the long-term process of building resilience and working through the inevitable hard times.

Reflective work has been an important aspect of my self-development. At moments in life you may find it necessary to let go of ideas crafted in your past in order to move forward with your future self. That requires a certain amount of internal dialogue that is a necessary part of Self-development. I share a light read on the heavy topic of ‘the midlife crisis’. A period in one’s life when depression may creep in and find unique and often destabilizing expressions!

Alternative treatments for depression exist that potentially provide immediate relief of symptoms, especially for individuals who have tried a combination of life-style changes, talk therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and/or medication and experience little to no relief. Depression is a complex illness that requires a wide range of treatment approaches. Ketamine infusion therapy provides a lifeline for individuals suffering from treatment-resistant depression. Learn more about this cutting-edge therapeutic method available at Ketamine Health Centers throughout Florida and Mexico. Schedule your mental health screening today. Together we can shine a light on depression and help lift you or a loved one out of darkness.

Holistic Pathways Pave the Way for Mental Health

by | | Mental Illness, Anxiety, Depression, General, Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy, Ketamine Infusion Therapy

Mental health news made the “front pages” recently, spurred on by a study claiming to debunk the ‘serotonin theory of depression. An important, although misleading conversation then took shape, specifically around the treatment of depression, which afflicts about 5% of the adult population worldwide. We want to sharpen the focus of this important conversation by pinpointing an aspect of current research on cutting-edge treatments that will help curb the dramatic increase in mood disorders, such as depression if properly integrated into a holistic model of mental well-being.

The authors of the study (which was first published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry and then made widely available as a popular review on nature.com) analyzed decades of research on the role of serotonin in depression and determined there was no causal connection between the two. News and media outlets quickly circulated the headline and ultimately helped stir conversation surrounding the complex, multifactorial nature of depression, as many experts weighed in.

Reactions from the media, and many individuals I spoke with after the headlines spread across seemingly every outlet – together with the cascading critiques – reveal that while most experts in the field of mental health do not prescribe a singular ‘chemical imbalance theory of mood disorders, a large segment of the general public tends to believe this account. Most likely given the marketing strategy at the turn of the century used to promote SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) as a magic-bullet cure for depression. The study says more about our societal inclination to rely on quick fixes than it helps to bring clarity to the complexities of mood disorders. As we well know, there is no singular source for depression given the dynamic interplay of the biopsychosocial factors that can lead to it, not to mention the genetic features of major depressive disorder that potentially remain latent until triggered by particular life events.

Several individuals sent me messages and Instagram shares referencing different aspects of the ongoing conversation surrounding the serotonin theory of depression. A few colleagues, some of whom take these prescribed antidepressants, asked for my opinion, not before denouncing the use of SSRIs in some cases. My initial reaction mirrored that of many experts in the field raising the strongest critique, that the treatment of depression requires a multifaceted approach to the whole person, the biopsychosocial layers of being (I include the bioenergetic field that connects us to the world’s most intimately). Sadly, there have been short-sighted psychiatrists, especially a generation ago, taking a shortcut to mental health by focusing primarily on the neurological pathways of pathology, motivated by the hope of finding a targeted approach to mental health treatment, but at times in a vacuum of care. Yet, neither can we sidestep the fact that these medications work in many cases. Thankfully, integrative health falls within the larger nexus of mental health today compared to twenty years ago, but it has always been the cornerstone of psychodynamic theories and body-centered therapies. An article critical of the review points to this view above by rejecting the authors’ singular focus on serotonin.

Depression requires an integrative approach to health, wellness, and worldview that often requires lifestyle changes in order to align one’s take on life with how one lives out that life. A pill cannot do all of that for us, however, SSRIs work for a portion of the population for a reason. This does not negate the fact that most individuals require several tools and psychodynamic treatment methods (and spiritual alignment through traditions, fellowship with others, and direct connection with the natural environment) to address both the symptoms and the causes of mood disorders. Ultimately, SSRIs are prescribed to help an individual artificially induce what lifestyle changes (through movement) can often help establish on their own when undertaken with sufficient support addressing all layers of being. There are, of course, many instances when additional support is required. Medication for mood disorders is an important tool (SSRIs are only one type of antidepressant medication), hopefully, a temporary one, to help create kinetic energy that provides the internal motivation to move and grow and explore one’s environment with a sense of purpose. These medications can be efficacious as tools to help one move past the inertia that keeps one stuck. But they do not work, even in tandem with other treatment methods, for some individuals diagnosed with “treatment-resistant” depression.

Most antidepressant medications were designed decades ago. Unfortunately, in arguing that a chemical imbalance of serotonin levels is not proven to play a causal role in depression, the review somewhat undermines the growing scientific evidence that does point to the role that neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine have in our mood regulation. Current knowledge of the neurophysiology of our brain and the relational structure of our minds and bodies to our environment in all its layered complexity is more sophisticated. Today’s technology, and more so with what’s coming online in the future, allow for more targeted approaches to mental health than ever before, paving future pathways to mental wellness.

By pinpointing more concretely the interrelated nature of our physiology and the importance of a dynamical approach to treatment for holistic mental health, we are poised to create a patient-tailored treatment for specific mental health disorders. Research groups directed by anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff, for example, look at ways to create disorder-specific treatments as we expand research into neuroimaging; including a study using transcranial ultrasound (TUS) to alleviate chronic pain. Another review of a study on Ketamine infusion therapy provides promising research on the causal connection between Ketamine (which directly targets the overarching glutamate neurotransmitter) and the monoamine neurotransmitter serotonin. The study shows Ketamine directly increases the number of serotonin 1B receptors, possibly a mechanism to explain its fast-acting results in individuals diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression. The review provides a research path forward it seems, by raising the need to better understand the intricate dynamics and role of neurotransmitters in the regulation of mood and motivation, and the overarching interplay between the excitatory Glutamate and inhibitory GABA neurotransmitters that constrain the neuropathways, of which serotonin is a “downstream” component. More importantly, though, we will continue to learn how to manipulate our various systems through a variety of modalities, and different ways of bringing into kinetic balance the layers of our whole self, ultimately creating the epigenetic changes that can lead to sustained wellbeing.

The foundational principles that guide Ketamine Health Centers are that of a holistic approach to wellness that strengthens overall well-being. We provide alternative therapies such as Ketamine infusion therapy, TMS treatment, and the still important component of talk therapy (with Ketamine assisted psychotherapy) to treat mood disorders. We emphasize the wellness spectrum as a preventative scope of mental health, precisely because of the many sources of mental illness that may be more stress related or connected to life events. However, the holistic and integrative approach to mental health is also a critical aspect of mental disorder treatment to address the needs of the whole self as a supportive ground for deeper therapeutic work. Ketamine Health Centers will guide you in creating your path to wellness.

Summer Vibes: Stay Cool Under Pressure

by | | Ketamine Infusion Therapy, Depression, General, Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy, Mental Illness

Maybe it’s the vitamin D boost or the energy you get from being near a source of water that rejuvenates and refreshes. Whatever the combination, the summer vibes can generate a healing space. Summer music with its upbeat groove has a way of moving us into a more easy-going state of mind. These days there is great relief in being outdoors, as we savor our time with others in open spaces where we can feel safe and comfortable (even if a little toasty with these heat wave temperatures!). Yet, the extremes we experience at the height of summer also remind us that we must find ways to cool down. We all need to find outdoor spaces for quiet and calm, where the stillness of mind and body can bring the natural environment to life in vibrant and healing ways.

I will assert that most of us sense the need to focus on healing at many levels. In May, a month designated to focus on mental wellness and ways to heal ourselves and our communities, our nation faced another school massacre with the ensuing and tragic consequences that force us to make hard choices. Our health concerns, along with climate imbalance and a multitude of social stressors that we are contending with will continue to put undue pressure on all of us well into the year. So, perhaps it is best to take this time to settle ourselves into stillness and greater self-reflection through breathwork, mindfulness practices, and moments of release to help us heal at our core and stay positive despite the heaviness.

In a sense, we must cool our thoughts and do our best to focus on self-care, so that we can respond to all individuals that shape our day with respect and grace, and when we find it necessary, simply move along with our day without losing our cool. Because we all have our days, and sometimes we need grace from others, but usually it’s nothing that a friendly smile from a stranger or a hug from a loved one can’t help resolve, along with exercise and a little evening fun. Take advantage of the extra hours of sunlight and stretch your relaxation time outdoors – take in the sunset; or walk off a hearty meal of fresh food and veggies, all made easier in the summer with nature’s abundance. Find a lake, a pool, and a beach to recharge.

We must be intentional about keeping it cool because summer is h-o-t. And that’s not all bad! Music and dance are almost synonymous with summer vibes. And rightly so. Some of the most important ways to keep up our energetic, physiological, and psychological state of well-being are through movement, and in particular through the power of music on the mind. Whether you feel moved by your favorite song, or you find your rhythm in sports or other types of exercise, do what feels good to you. And do it each day. Get in 15-30 minutes of outdoor cardio early in the morning before the summer heat sets in. Leave the evening hours for more leisure activities like a neighborhood stroll or a lazy bike ride through a nearby greenway. Chair yoga (or seated stretching) and chair dancing provide alternative options for engaging one’s body.

Include time at the start of your day (or cap off the night) with active reflection, stating or writing down two things you are grateful for. At that moment, take in a deep breath and let that positive reflection fill your whole being. Then exhale that breath, completely emptying your lungs, and inhale once again a full, deep breath. Feel the gift of air in your lungs and the warmth, the fuel, that gratitude provides the soul. This calming practice creates a space to organize your thoughts around setting intentions for the day, which helps engage the mind in ways that move you to accomplish your goals.

Journaling, simply writing out your thoughts and emotions, is quite helpful in curbing negative thinking by revealing your patterns of thought. It is a direct way to relieve stress and let go of those harmful thoughts that may weigh you down. By writing them out, you release them from your mind’s grasp and give yourself permission to name them or claim them, making it easier to let it go so that it lets go of you. Journaling provides a gentle, yet powerful, way to work through grief and trauma, while helping to strengthen memory and cognitive abilities, increase affect and boost mood especially when it involves incorporating positive thinking, and so many more positive effects of sorting out one’s thoughts on paper.

There are many more modalities and activities that can help you find that cool groove that you need this summer to feel your best. Still, there are also many traumatic events that too many minds and bodies are contending with, so many individuals experiencing trauma directly. Many more are affected each day by the growing mental health crisis and the inability of mental health care providers to keep up with increased need and awareness.

Thankfully, there are alternative methods that effectively and more quickly help treat mental health challenges such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, chronic pain, etc., and can help address the need for more targeted and accessible care. Whether you find yourself facing challenges, or someone you know needs the help of a mental health professional, Ketamine Health Centers is here to provide support and guidance to achieve mental wellness. Contact us today to learn more about the various treatment options available to alleviate post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and a wide range of conditions. We are here for you.

Supporting your Post-Infusion Care to Maximize Results

by | | Ketamine Infusion Therapy, Depression, General, Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy, Mental Illness

At Ketamine Health Centers, we ensure a successful and comfortable experience at our clinics. Once you leave our clinic, there are elements of post-infusion care that are important to keep in mind to help maximize the results.

To start, a friend or family member who can support your post-infusion experience is most beneficial. You will get more support from a loved one who is able to able to help you create a curated and safe space for you to make what you need out of your infusion experience.

There are the procedural and healing aspects of post-infusion care that a third person can help with that would allow you to focus more on your experience. Listening to the after-care instructions from the nurse may not be entirely possible while still processing your emotions and experience after a session. You may be overtaken by your thoughts, or still in a dreamy state of mind, and not fully able to take in all the details of post-infusion care. A friend can help be your eyes and ears immediately following your session by listening to the post-care instructions that will be reviewed with you. And that friend or family member can help once again review those instructions with you once home.

As a caretaker, you can help ensure the safety of your loved one by offering them safe transportation back home and helping them settle in comfortably. Additionally, we stress the importance of arranging transportation for a safe way home with a friend or family member.

A confidant is important to have during the post-infusion period. You may be tempted to share your experience with just about anyone who will listen! It is important though to keep in mind that many of your experiences will be difficult to capture in words. Not everyone will understand your perspective or be able to provide you the space of non-judgement that is especially important to help you process the insights that emerge immediately following (and days after) your session. Being selective of who you share with means you are less likely to try to fit your experience into neat perceptual frameworks to help someone else understand what you are trying to convey. You must first take the time to understand for yourself what your experience is trying to convey to you.

As a caretaker, you can best support someone going through infusion therapy by holding a non-judgmental space for that person to feel invited to share in a way that speaks to them. Try to provide feedback that helps the individual explore their experience for the messages that resonate for them, rather than trying to understand what they are speaking of in any concrete terms for your own understanding. Your curiosity may not be helpful at this stage, though it is important to show your interest during the post-infusion, it is much more important for you to share compassion through attentive listening. Remaining quietly present is a powerful gesture of support by simply holding a space for them to fill as they see fit.

Ketamine Health Centers provides a cutting-edge therapeutic model to address the mental health crisis that is on the rise. By combining ketamine infusion therapy with a variety of alternative treatments such as SGB treatment or TMS therapy we can target specific mental health challenges and tailor a treatment plan that addresses your needs. Contact us today at 1-833-964-9750 to learn more about the various therapies and treatments available throughout Florida and Mexico City.

Set an ‘Attitude of Gratitude’ to Balance Mental Health this Holiday Season

by | | Anxiety, Depression, General, Mental Illness, Self-Love, Wellness

Entering the second holiday season with Covid brings a new set of challenges for how we balance our mental and emotional health, considering yet another adjustment to our changing public health landscape. This year feels more purposeful in our month of giving as we enter the Thanksgiving season with the aim of healing and regaining some ground under our feet.

The fact that there are two lived realities to contend with complicates matters. Individuals who are vaccinated and are planning gatherings with friends and family are in a different position to navigate the holidays than individuals who have chosen, for their personal reasons, to remain unvaccinated. This aspect of the endemic phase of Covid-19 is something we will continue to grapple with as we celebrate and move into the new year. While the lived realities of how we go about our daily lives may differ depending on our physical safety measures, there are mental health and emotional steps that we can all practice. By focusing on several modes of love-in-action this season we can also increase our resilience amidst stress and tragedy, while building community ties that are essential for our personal and social welfare.

Creating an ‘attitude of gratitude’ as a guiding principle is a powerful tool to bolster our mental, emotional and spiritual health, which feeds back into the community building aspect of our personal growth – fostering meaning, happiness and enriching relationships.

Acts of kindness build a community web of support and help raise our happiness meter.
This month of giving begins with Veterans day, an important day to give thanks for the enormous sacrifices that military families carry for us. As well as Giving Tuesday campaigns for raising awareness and financial support for the multitude of programs that aim to help those in need. A focus on gratitude this month shines bright within us as we strengthen our community through loving actions, big and small, that also increase our own sense of well-being through happiness and connection that comes from spreading kindness. We have seen people step-up in creative ways to support each other in times of crisis. The pandemic has brought out our better angels in many corners of the world. An article in Frontiers in Psychology points to several “silver linings [which] revealed sources of strength that included finding a sense of community, closeness, gratitude, and a belief that the pandemic may spur positive social change.” Acts of kindness generate the greatest amount of emotional healing and community connection.

Love and gratitude towards acquaintances, neighbors and passersby in our life, can also come through simple acts, such as smiling at everyone you pass by throughout your busy day. Thanksgiving week is not simply time to be with family. Especially for those who are not traveling this year but want to have a fellowship gathering for the holiday, consider a small Friendsgiving feast. It would be healing to spend the holidays amongst whatever sense of community is available to you within the safety measures that you are comfortable with. Perhaps setting up an outdoor neighborhood potluck to connect individuals who would otherwise celebrate alone. Or consider supporting the most vulnerable in your area through sharing your talents or simply your time and presence, if you are able to safely. Through these actions that help us build our support systems beyond that of friends and family units, we begin to see the role of community in a new light. Now these terms, love and gratitude, are so broad they have room for myriad forms of relationships that enhance our well-being, especially when we extend that love to ourselves. Self-love is an important aspect of being able to give love to others in a healthy manner. And for individuals who are struggling with depression, the connection with self-love is often lacking. This study views gratitude and well-being in a psychotherapeutic setting. But self-love encompasses a broader concept, as well, as we look at wellness from the perspective of self-care.

Self-care in the context of balancing our mental health during the holidays means giving ourselves the time we need to relax, recharge to manage the hectic schedule of work demands, family life and holiday preparations. Fitting in moderate exercise, eating a balanced diet, getting proper sleep and carving out time for leisure activities such as reading, sitting by the fire, giving long hugs, taking long walks, reflecting during quiet moments or filling up on music and dancing whenever possible, are all important aspects of self-care. There are countless outlets that can provide you a recharge. Laughter is a wonderful remedy, of course, but not everyone is in a festive mood. It’s OK that you do not feel OK. You are not alone. Too many of us are experiencing grief.

Seek professional help if you need support to manage grief at this time. Contact

https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org or call 1-800-279-8255 if you need immediate assistance.
For a free consultation to learn about various cutting edge mental health treatments for depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation and other mental health challenges contact one of our professional staff at 1-833-542-3030 or https://ketaminehealthcenters.com.

Mending hearts and managing grief when faced with an empty seat at the table makes the holidays especially difficult. If you are not experiencing loss, help those around you with your presence, simply offering silent support is what is most needed. You can help someone find solace by finding a unique way of remembrance this holiday season. Below are a few examples of how to pay tribute to a loved one that encourages a personal touch.

Build a Centerpiece.
Set a Place at the Table for Them.
Attend a Service of Remembrance.
Create a Memory Table.
Share the Memories You’re Thankful For.

Lastly, but perhaps most importantly as we enter a season of reverence, is remembering our spiritual connection to traditions and ancestors. The essence of traditions in our social makeup is the source of universal love and our larger communal web of humanity, experienced uniquely and intimately with our families. Our personal experience of these traditions gives us a direct connection to our ancestors, our motherland, and oftentimes elucidates our place in nature. Create those nature-focused moments in our downtime, or an electronic-free day to create quiet space that helps us balance holiday demands with deeper meaning-making experiences. This is a perfect year to begin new traditions that harness energy stemming from new perspectives taking shape during the pandemic. Holidays always represent a mix of memory-making and energy-draining scenarios. It is important to read our emotions and give ourselves the permission to escape it all with our quiet moments of stillness that rejuvenate and reconnect us with a deeper sense of self. That quiet moment in front of a fire, or at dusk immersed in the beauty of a sunset, can provide the energetic refueling necessary to come back to your surroundings with grounded focus and openness. A spiritual connection to traditions or sacred space can provide a similar energetic recharge when we immerse all our senses and let the joy of the season fill our spirit. Peaceful holidays from Ketamine Health Centers!

Speaking Out for Suicide Prevention

by | | Depression, General, Mental Illness, Suicidal Ideation

The convergence of many traumatic events that continue to challenge and stretch us too thin requires that we confront hard-hitting topics such as suicide straight on. September marks suicide prevention month, during which we deepen our social outreach to those in need by speaking up and lifting the taboo.

We strive to raise awareness of the mental health continuum at Ketamine Health Centers, an industry leader providing support and treatment for suicide ideation with proven results. As we face an unprecedented increase in the suicide rate here in the United States, and around the globe, we seek to provide a pathway to healing.

Our veteran population remains a high-risk group, especially as we begin to wind down 20 years of war fatigue. The elderly are suffering more in an era of increasing geriatric mental health care needs, as the boomer generation ages. And our (mental) healthcare options shrink while we absorb other pressures on our healthcare system just as the need for services expand.

Ultimately, our youth remain the most vulnerable to an increased rate of substance abuse and depression, strong indicators of potential suicidal ideation, in particular when the future seems so bleak. As a society, it is our responsibility to balance the realities of the world with the beauty and possibilities that have always existed in tandem. To highlight the hope that humanity is capable of and to inspire change at all levels. To help bring our youth into the fold as agents of change.

By providing alternative treatments for a wide range of mental health disorders, Ketamine Health Centers helps curb suicide and refocus mental health as overall wellness. Ketamine infusion treatment guided psychotherapy is a powerful new therapeutic that effectively reduces suicidal ideation by 98%. Individuals who suffer chronic pain and illness are also at high risk for suicide and can most benefit from ketamine infusion therapy.

What to look out for if a loved one is in a high-risk group or has suffered trauma

The challenge with identifying suicidal tendencies is the variety of signs that differ across each individual. However, often the most prominent emotion is hopelessness and a subtle or not so subtle denial of self, such as feeling a burden to others, giving away prized possessions, or being extremely withdrawn.

Some signs could be rationalized away as “teenage” behavior such as increased risky behavior, diving recklessly or taking unnecessary risks often. And again, though not always present, for older individuals nor for youth, often starting or increasing substance use, or using other unhealthy modes of coping skills such as gambling, are warning signs that should not be overlooked.

Recent events such as a job loss, great financial loss, or trauma (individual or collective) can lead to suicidal thoughts and behavior as well. If you or someone you know is in this position, reach out to a professional for guidance. Contact your mental healthcare provider, a clinician at Ketamine Health Centers for information (1-833-964-9750) or for immediate assistance call

1-800-273-TALK (8255) the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Do not be afraid to talk about suicide with someone who you fear is having suicidal thoughts, or possibly planning a suicide. Break the taboo.

Directly ask what plans have been made, if any? How far have they prepared according to set plans? Talking about it helps to destigmatize and disarm possible suicidal ideation.

Talking about your concerns directly provides the individual with much-needed support and a direct confrontation with their thoughts that is crucial but requires the support of others. The best way to help is to connect them with a professional.

I wish to highlight valuable information and support provided by volunteers around the country to help curb this mental health crisis. We must address the lack of necessary mental healthcare facilities and providers for the level of care that is currently needed. We must especially mobilize to meet the demands for the increased need that is on the horizon.

For in-depth information or for ways to offer direct help as a volunteer, please visit: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/how-we-can-all-prevent-suicide/

To schedule a free consultation to learn more about IV Ketamine infusion therapy, call 1-833-964-9750 or email us at info@ketaminehealthcenters.com.

« Older Entries

Shining a Light on Depression: Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment

Holistic Pathways Pave the Way for Mental Health

Summer Vibes: Stay Cool Under Pressure

Supporting your Post-Infusion Care to Maximize Results

Set an ‘Attitude of Gratitude’ to Balance Mental Health this Holiday Season

Speaking Out for Suicide Prevention

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