People unable to cope up with the life's hardships and difficult problems sometimes have suicidal thoughts, and the same can be true for those who are dealing with underlying mental health diagnoses. Suicide seems to be the best solution to some people - or even the only way out - as stressful and inevitable situations continue.
This tragic feeling is worsened by an inability to find solutions to numerous problems a person may come across in daily life. When the first signs of suicidal thoughts appears, the best way for outsiders to react would be to immediately offer support and direct them to one of the many helplines and clinics that can assist people who are suffering from suicidal thoughts. If you are the one who is dealing with suicidal ideation, meanwhile, you can tell yourself that no matter how bleak things are looking now, situations can quickly change. Give yourself the chance to heal from your current struggles, and please seek support.
What are the Treatment Options for Suicidal Thoughts?
The underlying causes of becoming suicidal largely determine which treatment to undergo. When dealing with serious suicidal ideation or even suicide attempts, a person be hospitalized and be given urgent medical care. During this attempt a person may have hurt themselves, so their physical as well as mental needs to be taken care of.
The most important thing in these situations is to have someone qualified and supportive by the person's side all the time because suicidal thoughts and attempt can reoccur. Potentially harmful objects have to be out of reach for this person. A doctor who will try and determine the cause of a suicide attempted by asking a number of personal questions related to mental and psychological issues.
When a doctor defines potential problems and underlying causes, he or she may prescribe certain medications to ease anxiety and depression, since both depression and anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder are associated with suicidal thoughts. A decision is made about the best way to proceed with treatment: if a person has attempted suicide several times, if a person used drugs or alcohol excessively in the past or still uses, if a person is psychotic and delusional, if there are indications of mental illness, if a person does not have family or friends to turn to support or if his behavior is impulsive and unpredictable.
- Overall, 79% of participants with baseline suicidal ideation had none at week 4, 83% had none at week 12, and 86% had none at week 28.
- All treatments reduced ideation, with bupropion-SR plus escitalopram the most effective at week 12 (P
- In participants without baseline ideation, emergent ideation did not differ between treatments: 2.5% had ideation at 4 weeks, 1.3% had ideation at 12 weeks, and only 1.7% had ideation at 28 weeks.
- Four patients (all receiving venlafaxine-XR plus mirtazapine) attempted suicide (P = .0162).
In all of these situations, a doctor will keep a suicidal patient in the hospital until symptoms ease and disappear so that a doctor is sure that a patient will not do anything similar. During the stay in hospital, a patient goes to session therapies, if the doctor prescribes it, or visits specialists, does medical examinations and takes prescribed medicines.
How Likely is the Recover
However, if a person has suicidal thoughts but does not attempt suicide and is not critical he or she may be treated outside hospital. In this case, psychotherapies will be included in the treatment. A patient visits therapists, talks about his thoughts and problems and they together try to find the way out. A doctor may prescribe antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications to manage moods and thoughts of suicidal people. If a person has abused drugs or alcohol they may be sent to addiction programs and even rehabilitation centers or detoxification procedures.
Besides medical care, a person has to have someone for encouragement and support. Family and friends have to understand what is this person going through so that they can include themselves in the treatment. It is essential to have someone for support and not leave the suicidal person alone. In these cases, peer education can help family members and friends offer the best possible support, rather than making the person feel worse.
Frequent conversations can help people dealing with suicidal thoughts realize how serious their problem is. If they are unwilling to seek for medical attention, close friends and family can help them overcome the problem and eventually help them find a good therapist, since psychotherapy forms the pillar of treatment.
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