Approximately one million people commit suicide every year, averaging one suicide every 40 seconds.
Suicide kills a friend every forty seconds, a father every forty seconds, a mother every forty seconds, a son or a daughter every forty seconds. Suicide kills people of all races and ages. . . every forty seconds. Suicide is often framed as a moral shortcoming or a “coward’s way out;” however, I would argue that it has much more to do with a lack of options than a lack of courage.
A Lack of Options
Throughout your life you will no doubt walk through the corridor of choice, a hallway of doors that leads to many potentially good and bad outcomes. This hallway can be long and beautiful, or short and scary, but it always ends with an emergency exit door called suicide. For most people, the doors along the corridor are open and inviting, giving them a variety of options and choices in life. Also, the lock on the emergency exit is sturdy and doesn’t tempt those who are experiencing growth and fulfillment. But over time some of these doors begin to close, getting stuck, jammed, and locked. They are sealed by trauma, damage, and disease. Eventually, the emergency exit of scuicide goes from “not an option” to “an option,” and if we aren’t careful it may become “THE option.” As hope begins to disapear, you walk up and down the hall, checking all the doors to no avail. You return to the exit, the door that up until now has been solidly locked… and find it slightly ajar. You open it. It’s dark, there’s nothing there, but there’s nothing not there either. You turn around one last time to look back down the hallway of choice to “make sure” those doors really are all closed… and step back into the void resigned to the fact that “this is it.” If you were lucky you had family and friends that jumped out and caught you, physicians and hospitals that helped bring you back to break those doors back open But for many, that last step was unrecoverable. That suicide was “complete.”
Unlocking the Doors
Many people choose the “emergency exit” option to end their suffering because there aren’t any other available options. But now, with Ketamine, we have a fast acting treatment for suicidal thoughts that keep you trapped. If you find yourself looking back at the corridor of choice and feel like making a swift move toward the emergency exit, we can use Ketamine to re-open and unlock the other “doors.” Ketamine infusion therapy has the potential to change the status of suicide as “THE option” to “an option;” and ultimately to “an afterthought.”
If you or a loved one struggles with suicidal thoughts, there is always help available at 1 (800) 273-8255. You can also speak to an Alleviant representative regarding ketamine infusion therapy at 1 (866) 951-HEAL.
