Imagine Healthcare Sponsoring Out of the Darkness Chicagoland Walk This Weekend
Reducing stigma, raising awareness, supporting family and survivors are key to the community wellbeing focus of the ketamine and wellness clinic
Chicago - September 13, 2022 - Imagine Healthcare, a ketamine and wellness clinic dedicated to community health, is pleased to join as sponsor of the Out of the Darkness Chicagoland Walk for suicide prevention on September 17.
“The Out of the Darkness Chicagoland Walk is a special event that provides community, connection, healing, and hope for survivors of suicide loss and those with lived experience,” says Dr. Rachel Norris, chief medical officer and founder of Imagine Healthcare.
The Chicagoland Out of the Darkness Walk will be held Saturday, September 17 at Montrose Harbor. Anyone who has been impacted by suicide is invited to participate in the free event. There is a fundraising suggested goal, but it isn’t a requirement. Imagine Healthcare is a Hope Sponsor. Every dollar raised by the nationwide Out of the Darkness Walks support suicide awareness and prevention by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
The fundraiser is especially close to the clinicians of Imagine Healthcare because of their first-hand experience with patients who have been or are having feelings of self-harm, suicidal ideation and similar feelings due to physical or mental illness.
“Suicide is a public health problem and a leading cause of death among children and adults, but seeking help isn’t always easy. The warning signs and risk factors can be hard to spot,” says Norris. “Researchers haven’t nailed down exactly how to predict if someone is suicidal and whether or when they may attempt. But we do know how to treat people who are suicidal and those who have been impacted by it, and the first step is getting rid of the stigma around treatment.”
The Out of the Darkness walks are held around the country to raise awareness of and support for people impacted by suicide.
Imagine Healthcare’s flagship offering is ketamine therapy, including FDA approved Spravato, but the clinic is a complete wellness destination offering hydration infusions and vitamin/mineral injections as well as various psychotherapy services. Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic and can reset the mind and body in ways many traditional medicines cannot and can be useful for suicide prevention treatment.
“The global pandemic has impacted the emotional and economic well-being of many people and families, and left many of us to manage a variety of emotions, including feelings of uncertainty,” says Norris. “But an increase in suicide is not a forgone conclusion and it is important to all of us at Imagine Healthcare that we work together to prevent it.”
Imagine Healthcare’s clients range from age 15 to 74 and are treated in a psychologically safe environment for many mental health diagnoses including PTSD, treatment-resistant depression, ADHD, seasonal affective disorder, OCD and generalized anxiety disorder as well as some chronic pain conditions. The clinic also hosts a weekly ketamine support group and educational/experiential sessions regularly.
One of Imagine Healthcare’s clients, a family of a mother and her three daughters, have all battled depression and suicidal thoughts and found treatment and recovery through ketamine therapy.
“Each time we go it is a bigger sigh of relief - it is amazing and I am so grateful. I will never go back to prescription antidepressants,” says the mother, Ruth. “Depression has such a bad stigma and people get uncomfortable hearing about it, but people become less uncomfortable when they realize you’re in treatment, and that is important to me.”
By joining Imagine Healthcare and the Chicagoland Out of the Darkness Walk, supporters are joining a strong community united in an effort to fight suicide, recognize and honor loved one, raise awareness, educate communities, support others and share hope for prevention and wellness.
Those in crisis, call 988 or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.