Mental illness is a disease, and like any other ailment, it requires treatment. However, mental illness often carries with it an unfair burden of blame. While we would never fault someone for having cancer, ALS, or diabetes, individuals grappling with mental illness frequently face stigma and shame. In this blog post, we’ll explore a groundbreaking and safe treatment option that is changing the landscape of mental health care.
Understanding Mental Health Disorders:
Mental health disorders, or mood disorders, can have various causes. These include childhood trauma, adult trauma, chemical imbalances resulting from environmental factors, pregnancy and childbirth, menopause, loneliness, substance abuse, chronic illnesses, and stressful life events. Despite our growing understanding of these causes, society still tends to stigmatize those suffering from mental illness. It’s essential to recognize that individuals with mental health conditions would do anything to rid themselves of their burden.
A Breakthrough in Mental Health Treatment:
Historically, mental health treatment has revolved around anti-psychotic drugs, extended periods of talk therapy, anti-depressants, and unconventional therapies. However, there’s a new ray of hope.
The FDA has recently approved Ketamine treatments for depression, anxiety, and PTSD. These conditions, as recognized by the World Health Organization, are among the leading causes of disability worldwide. The FDA’s approval marks a significant milestone, introducing the first genuinely innovative psychiatric drug in over three decades.
While skepticism often surrounds organizations like the FDA and the World Health Organization, the research on Ketamine is truly exceptional, surpassing anything seen in the last thirty years.
The Ketamine Advantage:
Ketamine may have once been associated with recreational use or as an animal anesthetic, but it has garnered attention in psychiatry due to its ability to rapidly alleviate depression symptoms. This stands in stark contrast to conventional antidepressants, which can take weeks to become effective. Moreover, Ketamine has shown promise in treating patients resistant to other pharmaceuticals, offering a ray of hope where traditional treatments fail. Ketamine’s quick reversal of symptoms clashed sharply with the existing set of antidepressants, which take weeks to begin working. Research has shown ketamine works for patients who are treatment resistant, meaning current pharmaceuticals do not work. Ketamine works on an entirely different type of neurotransmitter system than current antidepressants, which can take months to improve symptoms of depression and do not work at all for one in three people.
But how does Ketamine work? Researchers believe that it stimulates the regrowth of synapses, effectively rewiring the brain. This process is similar to what individuals recovering from substance abuse undergo, a process that can take years. While those in recovery must battle their minds daily, Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy can achieve similar results in just 14 days. Once the new pathways are formed, along with sure fired ways to choose positive thoughts, a person may never need treatment again. If they do, it is a booster infusion every 6 months. This is the kind of outcome all medications should have. Getting off of it entirely.
The Power of Neuroplasticity:
Neuroplasticity is a key concept to grasp. Just as professional athletes and musicians develop hardened pathways in their brains through practice, so do our thoughts shape our realities. Positive thinking yields positive outcomes, while a perpetual cycle of negative thoughts can lead to more depression. The mind’s influence on the body is now well-documented, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a healthy mind for overall well-being.
Breaking the Cycle with Ketamine:
If you find yourself trapped in a depressive thought loop, called rumination, there is hope. The way out involves forging new pathways in your mind, essentially creating new ways of thinking. Ketamine-assisted therapy has shown remarkable success in achieving this transformation, offering a lifeline to the majority of individuals who undergo it. Rumination is a thought loop trap, and is the cause of so many bleak, despairing days, weeks, and years. Rumination is when the ‘default mode network’ (DMN) is continually playing in the mind. DMN is an interconnected series of brain regions that are active when we’re lost in thought, daydreaming, or reminiscing. In other words, the DMN is activated when we are on “autopilot,” which is when we tend to ruminate. However, some of us have become functional while the depressing thoughts play in our minds. We have learned to smile and hide the background sponsoring thought telling us we are worthless. When a thought or thoughts are repeated over and over in the brain, the pathways harden making that easy path, the habit.
Available Ketamine Options:
Ketamine is now available through various methods, including nasal, oral, injection, and intravenous administration. Intravenous therapy is the only method that allows for immediate control of the experience. In contrast, other methods require the drug to run its course. Most research shows the KAP is the most impactful and lasting.
The Impact of Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP):
Research has demonstrated that Ketamine-assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) is more effective than standalone Ketamine or having an untrained companion during the experience. A trained psychotherapist guides the client through the treatment, as the microdosed Ketamine induces a psychedelic reaction. Integration meetings with the psychotherapist after the treatments are vital for the therapeutic process.
A Game-Changer in Depression Research:
Ronald Duman, the Elizabeth Mears and House Jameson Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Neurobiology, hailed Ketamine’s rapid therapeutic response as the most significant breakthrough in depression research in half a century.
Considering Ketamine Treatment:
If you decide to pursue Ketamine treatment, remember that it requires your full attention. The standard protocol consists of six infusions over a 14-day period. This schedule is non-negotiable, necessitating adjustments similar to those for any other medical treatment. Infusions cannot be administered consecutively, so you’ll need someone to drive you home, and abstaining from eating four hours before the treatment is essential.
If you’re grappling with depression, anxiety, or PTSD, Ketamine treatment could be transformative for your life. Determine if you are a candidate and take steps toward improved well-being.
Vitalifts offers KAP. To find out more email safeketamine@vitalifts.com