Mild Suicidal Ideation

How To Stop Suicidal Intrusive Thoughts

Gun violence. Psychotic breaks. Heroin injections. Hatred fueled by racism. Political clashing. Domestic and international terrorism. Suicides. The list goes on. It is no secret that we are living in times of great stress. Constantly being bombarded by negativity brings up the concept of epigenetics: the modification of genes resulting in some turning on or off.

Think of it like this: stress and negativity result in genetic modifications which result in mental illness. Add to this picture alcohol and drugs and you have a society suffering from addiction, depression, psychosis and suicides. And mental illness almost never presents alone; suicidal ideation is a frequent flyer.

Whether you are suffering from anxiety, depression, OCD, anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder or compulsive buying, mild suicidal ideation will present itself at one point in time, whether you admit it or not. This is because the human mind is not naturally trained to deal with mental illness.

Suicidal ideation becomes a dysfunctional defense mechanism of the mind to put an end to the suffering caused by mental illness. However, suicidal ideation may also become part of a mental illness, becoming stronger and more powerful as each day goes by.

For instance, a teenager going through puberty and peer pressure at school may have passive suicidal ideation, but not strong enough to act upon it. But if that same teenager now becomes depressed, the suicidal ideation now becomes persistent and more potent, to the point of progressing to a suicidal attempt.

The key to stopping suicidal thoughts is to break the chain before it has a chance to expand; cut it loose before it self-replicates. If you find yourself having suicidal thoughts, take a deep breath and distract yourself by immediately thinking of something positive in your life. Looking at the positive things in your life allows you to shift your focus away from the virus known as suicidal ideation.

And lastly, never give up! Be honest with yourself and seek help if you continue to struggle with suicidal ideation. There is no shame to being prescribed antidepressants such as Prozac, Lexapro or Wellbutrin or undergoing psychotherapy. Your life is precious so take care of it!

We are all in this together.

Are you Ready? (This is Defeating Stigma Mindfully)