If you’ve been considering embarking on the psychedelic path from a more clinical perspective, then I’m sure you’ve encountered ketamine treatment as a first entry option.
There’s a budding amount of research surrounding ketamine treatment as a viable option for treating mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, and PTSD. There’s also a lot of controversy as far as how safe it is, its administration, and the plethora of use cases it has.
Physicians are prescribing ketamine off-label as an alternative treatment for mental health, but its primary use case is as a general anesthetic. In sub-anesthetic doses, the experience can be similar to that of psychedelic experience due to its dissociative properties and mechanisms of action on the brain.
So how can you know if ketamine is a good fit for you as a psychedelic-like treatment?
Let’s discuss what you need to know about the benefits and risks associated with ketamine treatment.
Why ketamine could be a good psychedelic option for you
From a positive light, ketamine is helping thousands of people overcome their mental health conditions quickly, effectively, and for the long term.
For those people who don’t respond well to traditional first-line mental health treatment options like SSRIs or talk therapy, this option can help one open up to the possibilities and give them an advantage neurologically through enhanced neuroplasticity to cement their learnings.
Here are some ways in which ketamine could be a great option if you’re considering it.
Legal, effective, safe, and accessible
I can’t talk about ketamine without first stating the uniqueness of the fact that it’s currently the only legal clinically prescribed psychedelic adjacent treatment option.
Because it is so widely accepted in the medical community and only growing in popularity, this means that there’s more information, more data, and a greater ability to obtain access to treatment..
If you’re looking to be under the close care of a clinician you can choose to have a ketamine infusion in a clinical and monitored setting via IV (intravenous) or IM (intramuscular) injection.
If you’d rather take your own journey, there are companies that prescribe at-home ketamine treatment options that you can embark on during your own time.
Greater accessibility to treatment means that more people can access the healing power of ketamine over any other psychedelic at this current time.
The legality combined with the effectiveness of ketamine can be a great aid in how much one might respond to treatment. Without fear of doing anything illegal, feeling completely safe and in good hands, and with confidence that this treatment could work, the mind is primed in powerful ways to drop in and experience the benefits without any of the fear that may be attached to other still illegal options like psilocybin mushrooms or MDMA.
A gentle and non-overwhelming approach to psychedelics
Out of all the psychedelic treatment options there are, ketamine is by far the least overwhelming option.
This gentle approach can be really helpful for anyone who’s never had a psychedelic experience before and is nervous about having a big journey straight out of the gate.
It works instantly as an antidepressant so the relief from ketamine is immediately felt.
Because of the calming effects that it induces, a patient who undergoes ketamine treatment is much less likely to have a traumatic-induced journey. The experience tends to be extremely introspective and connecting to self.
Especially if you’re new to psychedelics, the process of uncovering from a state of calm can be a much more effective start of the lifelong journey of healing and growth. It’s a great opportunity to do some more grounded work before graduating to more potent and life-changing psychedelic options should you feel the need to go there. If you do choose to continue with ketamine alone, the effects compound over time, allowing you to get deeper into the work and continue to uncover and evolve.
You’re looking for an alternative treatment option for anxiety, depresssion, or PTSD
Ketamine has mostly been studied on its effectiveness for anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Specifically the most profound studies are in regards to treatment resistant depression.
When combined with an integration practice or traditional therapy, the experience that you have during your session, the insights you take away, and how you plan to move forward with your findings can create serious change both neurobiologically and in your physical reality.
Ketamine is having profound effects because it’s allowing someone to get deep into their subconscious and uncover the root of what might be causing the bulk of their anxieties and stressors. This awareness is a powerful tool to take into intentional action and create meaningful change.
You want to create new habits and overcome ruminating thoughts
Ketamine is one of the more unique psychedelic substances because of the neuroplasticity effects it has on the brain. Neuroplasticity is the process of the brain exploring and creating new neural pathways to support different thoughts, habits, behaviors and lifestyle shifts.
With an increased likelihood to form these new neural pathways, the days following treatment are critical for you to really begin to process and implement what new habits, thoughts or behaviors you want to take with you forward.
During a ketamine treatment session, you’re likely going to experience a perspective shift and an emotional detachment that you might normally have with yourself and your lived experience.
This can be hugely impactful when assessing what you want to change and heal. Coming out of the session with this information and taking it forward to actually change your behavior is a big reason why ketamine treatment is so effective.
The combination of a shifted perspective, increased neuroplasticity and intentional integration means you can rewire your brain to support a better, more integrated version of yourself that you are in control of.
Why ketamine could not be a good psychedelic option for you
As with all substances, ketamine is not a one-size-fits-all option for everybody. All substances are important to assess from the perspective of health and safety, and though ketamine is safe and effective, it can also be harmful to certain populations.
Here are some of the things to pay attention to when deciding if ketamine is a good fit for you. If you’re seriously considering this option, you’ll want to talk to a medical professional where you can disclose your medical history and assess if you’re a good candidate.
If you have high blood pressure or intracranial pressure
Ketamine’s interaction with the body can increase blood pressure. For an individual who has a healthy blood pressure, this is not to be of much concern, but for anyone who suffers with hypertension, it’s important to pay attention to.
You’ll want to check with a medical professional to see if you are in the high risk category for this. If you’re not sure, you’ll also want to check with a medical professional as this part of your health can change spontaneously depending on levels of stress and your lifestyle choices.
Ketamine also increases intracranial pressure, so if you have any brain swelling, brain lesions, or tumors, ketamine will not be a good fit and can be extremely dangerous.
These are specific cases and a good rule of thumb is to always ask your doctor before taking any substance.
You have the potential risk of addiction or family history of addiction
This is by far the most controversial conversation surrounding ketamine, it’s potentially addictive and can be easily misused.
Ketamine, or K, has been known as a club drug for decades and most people know of it in this setting. K holes are nothing short of a completely dissociative state.
When taken irresponsibly, one can completely dissociate from their real life which can be relieving if they’re someone who struggles with addiction or mental health conditions.
Frequent ketamine use can alter the brain’s reward system, making it difficult to quit use and impacting your daily life and responsibilities. Ketamine may be abused as a way to self medicate as the feelings elicited by the drug might feel like a relief from one’s physical or emotional pain, therefore if you’re someone who has any history of addiction, tread cautiously and have your treatment monitored closely by a medical professional.
On the contrary, ketamine is used as a treatment option for addiction. If you fall in this category, it might be suggested that you don’t administer your own ketamine, therefore oral at-home programs may not be a good fit but an in-patient clinic could be incredibly therapeutic and safe.
If you or anyone you know struggles with addiction or substance abuse, call 1-800-662-4357 for free and confidential help.
You don’t want to take synthetic medicines
A lot of people in the psychedelic space are proponents of taking natural plant or earth substances, not what’s made in a lab.
There’s a couple things to note about this: Only practicing with organic substances is a reasonable thought to have during the assessment of psychedelic journeys, however, it’s also not sustainable. A lot of plant medicines are actually endangered and if we continue to use them up at the current rate, we’ll take them aways from their indigenous cultures entirely.
If you are someone that has zero interest in using non-plant medicine, then ketamine will not be a good fit for you. Because it’s not an organic compound, it’s associated with a different experience than one might have when they take something that is of the earth.
When working with any substance, it’s important to assess where you stand with this. If there’s anything I’ve learned from working with psychedelic substances, it’s that even the tiniest of thoughts can take up a lot of space during your journey if you don’t address them beforehand.
Check in with yourself and see if synthetic substances are on your ‘yes-list’ or not.
Embarking on your ketamine journey
If you’ve made the decision to work with the medicine of ketamine, then your journey starts now! Ketamine is a beautifully powerful substance that can help you uncover and understand the root of what you’re looking to work on.
For most, it’s a great start to the psychedelic healing path. For a lot of people it’s also a great maintenance protocol if you’re looking to continue integrating and expanding upon what you’re working on.
Make sure that if you do decide to work with any substance that you check-in with your doctor and assess that it’s a good fit. Until more psychedelic substances become legal for clinical use, ketamine is the only legal clinically prescribed option. Since it already falls into the clinical model, the assessment for safe use is already built into the model that is available.
