Mental Health

Does My Inflamed Brain Make Me Suicidal?

Studies link suicidal ideations to brain inflammation.

image by WHS — purchased by the author

There is evidence that suicidal ideation may be linked to brain inflammation.¹ This is good news for me because I’ve been suicidal most of my life if there are physical symptoms that can be treated, that gives me another weapon in my arsenal to defeat suicide.

Brain Inflammation

The field now has two independent reports — our study and a 2015 report by Setiawan and colleagues in Toronto — showing essentially the same thing: that there is evidence for inflammation, more specifically microglial activation, in the brains of living patients during a major depressive episode.” — Dr. Peter Talbot

A study by The Society of Biological Psychiatry says that depressive disorder is associated with raised peripheral inflammatory markers called *TSPO. Their study found evidence that inflammation is involved in suicidal behavior. ²

Causes

Marwa Azab Ph.D. says that environmental factors can cause inflammation and elevate the risk of depression. These factors are stress, low socioeconomic status, or a troubled childhood.³