Suicidal Depression Help: There is Hope.

Depression. It’s a word that many of us are all too familiar with. Whether we’re living with it ourselves or seeing the impact it has on a loved one, it may turn into devastating suicidal depression.

At Amen Clinics, we understand how monumentally important it is to distinguish between depression and situational sadness or despair. Sadness and despair are universal human emotions – something we’ve all felt at one time. Suicidal depression, however, is an all-encompassing state of being that is more than a mood, more than an emotion, and more than most can handle and tackle on their own.

Thankfully, handling and tackling suicidal depression on your own is not necessary. There is hope, and there is help. Amen Clinics was founded with a goal of offering our clients the best of both.

Suicidal Depression Help: You Are Not Alone

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 300 million people globally suffer from depression, and that “depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide.” It’s been reported that as many as 55% of the population have considered suicide at some point in their lives.

At Amen Clinics, we’ve identified seven types of anxiety and depression. The main signs of each depression vary, but pure depression contains the following symptoms:

• Persistent sad or negative mood
• Loss of interest in usually pleasurable activities
• Restlessness, irritability or excessive crying
• Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness, hopelessness or pessimism
• Sleeping too much or too little, or early morning awakening
• Decreased appetite and/or weight loss or overeating and weight gain
• Decreased energy, fatigue or feeling “slowed down”
• Thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts
• Difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions
• Persistent physical symptoms that don’t respond to treatment, such as headaches, digestive problems or chronic pain
• Chronic low self-esteem
• Persistent feeling of being dissatisfied or bored

It’s important to remember that friendship and community play a large role in continued depression. You may experience symptoms of depression, and a turn towards suicidal depression warrants additional support from friends, loved ones and even acquaintances in the community, as every connection can play a role in helping ease the deep sense of loneliness.

Suicidal depression calls for the most urgent and comprehensive approach to care. We understand and honor that sense of urgency at Amen Clinics, and are committed to helping you on your path toward a healthier mind and body, every step of the way.

Overcoming Suicidal Depression

First and foremost, overcoming suicidal depression calls for an ally in the battle against your illness, and we will employ whatever resources, recommendations, and advanced testing we have at our disposal. The Amen Clinics Method takes a four-pronged approach:

1. We will explore your specific biological, psychological, social and spiritual influences.
2. Perform neuropsychological tests to measure various aspects of your brain function
3. Perform two brain SPECT scans: one at rest and one during concentration
4. Order lab tests to rule out nutritional deficiencies, hormone imbalances, toxicity, etc.—if deemed necessary

We offer comfort in discovering if you may be experiencing a physical component to your depression in the brain itself. With advanced testing, we can identify physical abnormalities in the brain to help cure your suicidal depression.

Brain SPECT Imaging: The Amen Clinics Difference for Suicidal Depression Help

Brain SPECT Imaging provides an essential layer of insight that is missing from many other depression treatment plans, allowing us unparalleled clarity in regards to what your depression actually looks like.

Oftentimes, there is a functional problem in your brain that is an integral component of your suicidal depression. Not many people know that brain injury is a leading cause of depression. Chances are good that any possible previous attempts to tackle your depression did not consider and address this functional issue. As well-meaning and well-developed as those previous treatment plans may have been, it is often the additional information and insight we learn from your SPECT scan that is the missing piece of the puzzle in treating your depression.

Are SPECT Scans a New Tool?

We understand that many of the people we work with have never heard of SPECT scans, and that it sounds like a new technology, which can cause a certain degree of apprehension. SPECT is a proven imaging technology that helps measure the way an organ works, such as by mapping blood flow.

We are proud to say that the SPECT imaging scans Amen Clinics offers are not new technology, rather they have served as the backbone of our health care clinics for nearly three decades. We are the best in the world when it comes to administering and reading brain SPECT imaging, and have performed more than 150,000 brain SPECT scans over the past 30 years.

Many of the people we’ve worked with arrive at Amen Clinics after months, years, or even decades of being misunderstood. You may have been told everything from “it’s all in your head” to “don’t sweat the small stuff.” You will never be treated that way at Amen Clinics. That is our enduring commitment and promise to help you through your suicidal depression

Our team has nothing but the utmost respect and compassion for your journey, and the significant step you have taken in trusting us to help you move past suicidal depression into the life you so deserve. A range of patients enter our facility with illnesses varying from postpartum depression, borderline personality disorder, panic disorder, reactive attachment disorder, toxic exposure, PTSD, dementia, and many who are undiagnosed with a problem aside from experiencing depression and anxiety.

We are honored to be your partner and care provider and will apply our extensive knowledge and tools in helping you become free from suicidal depression. Depression may have been such a huge part of your life for so long that you can’t remember a time before it and can’t envision a life without it. But we urge you to consider that just because you’ve been living with something for a long time does not mean that it’s the only way. It simply means that you haven’t yet found the right treatment plan for you. But that was then, and this is right now.

Amen Clinics Treatment for Suicidal Depression

The team of experienced professionals at Amen Clinics brings extensive knowledge, compassion, empathy, and an unwavering commitment to your treatment in all they do. We understand that you are a complex individual whose suicidal depression has been shaped by many things, including your life experiences, your physical and mental health, a possible family history of mental health issues or other issues that contribute to depression, and, importantly, your brain itself.

Through extensive research, our clinics have come to understand how brain SPECT imaging can predict treatment outcomes in depressed patients. We will thoughtfully study your scan to see which personalized treatment plan is most likely to help your unique situation.

We are strong proponents of highly individualized plans that might include a physical wellness plan, dietary recommendations, transcranial magnetic stimulation, psychotherapy including hypnotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, traditional antidepressants only as needed, and more. We are steadfast in our commitment to design the plan that will work for you.

Find Suicidal Depression Help with Amen Clinics

To be sure, sometimes depression can feel like such an integral part of who you are that you fear what will remain if you overcome it. But we promise that you are so much more than your depression.

You deserve more than your depression wants for you.
You deserve to be in charge of your present and your future.
You deserve to take the time and necessary steps to get at the root of your suicidal depression and work towards unraveling yourself from its web.
You are a whole, complex, one-of-a-kind person that deserves a life free from suicidal thoughts and depression. You deserve the help that Amen Clinics can provide.

If you or someone you love is suffering from suicidal depression, please reach out to us online or call us at 888-288-9834. If you fear that your life, or the life of someone you know, is in imminent danger, please dial 911 or reach out to one of the rescue lines below immediately:

In the US:
Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 from anywhere in the USA, at any time, about any type of crisis
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386
Outside the US:
The International Association for Suicide Prevention lists several suicide hotlines by country.

For more information on the Amen Clinics approach to anxiety and depression, watch the following intimate talk between Dr. Amen and his wife, Tana Amen.