Tracking rapidly changing patterns of suicidal thought

In a new study, Harvard researchers took a granular approach to measuring the duration and frequency of suicidal thinking. With the help of a smartphone app, they were able to monitor participants multiple times a day over several weeks. These assessments revealed that suicidal thinking changes rapidly—with far shorter timescales than previously thought. And they offered a firmer sense of when suicidal desire is most predictive of future intent. The results were published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.