We’re sickened (as we’re sure you are) when we see headlines like Active-Duty Military Suicides at Record Highs in 2018 and Major Depression on the Rise Among Everyone, New Data Shows.
So it was a welcome relief to run across the amazing story of Joe Wright.
After four suicide attempts and years of unsuccessful therapy with antidepressants, Joe volunteered in 2016 for a research study at Columbia University. He underwent one infusion of ketamine, a sedative used in anesthesiology. Just one. Almost immediately, he started feeling more hopeful about life and more receptive to therapy. Less than a year later, he married. Today he says his dark moods are remote and manageable.
What an incredible and hopeful story! Could it be that ketamine is the new magic bullet against certain types of depression?
Then, just a few days ago, we discovered a breakthrough study from the UK and Australia that FINALLY confirms what we at Bottom Line have always believed. Drugs don’t have to be the answer—simply eating a healthy diet can improve mood and ease symptoms of depression.
Over the past year, more 16 million adults in the United States have experienced a major depressive episode and, in 2017, more than 47,000 have died from suicide, making it the 10th leading cause of death.
There’s no reason for these tragic statistics to keep repeating themselves year after year. Yes, depression is incredibly complex in its causes and treatment. Therapies, family support (or lack of it) and more are all part of both the problem and solution. But with new breakthroughs like ketamine and so many drug-free ways to naturally ease depressive symptoms, there should always be a path forward.
Anyone who hasn’t found relief from standard antidepressant therapy needs to know that there are numerous alternatives out there. We just mentioned two, but there are many—different ones work for different people. Never stop hoping and searching for the solution that is right for you.
