You can now trip your way out of depression
A friend I follow on social media recently posted about a new treatment program he was trying for depression. He has always been open about his struggles and it seemed like he held a lot of hope for this new treatment when all else had failed. He would be given small doses of ketamine through an IV while being monitored by nurses and doctors on the other side. I was fascinated in how this could help and what the process would be like and he was willing to share his thoughts about it after with his followers.
I went on a Google deep dive into the benefits of ketamine therapy and found that for some people, ketamine can help end the pattern of negative thought spirals and promote the formation of neural connections in the brain. This is due in part by the way the drug kickstarts glutamate production helping the brain to form new positive behaviors. Drug makers have never been able to duplicate such a positive neural reaction like that of ketamine therapy.
The CDC estimates that 21.0 million adults in the US have had at least one major depressive episode. That is 8.4% of the population 18 and up, depression effects a lot of people and there is no clear cut effective treatment. There has also been a sharp increase in the rates of depression in children, even before the pandemic cause the problem to go completely off the charts.
This map from the nursing team at CEUfast shows the U.S Cities with the Highest Prevalence of Depression. I’m curious to know some more statistics of these cities as I see everywhere from Colorado Springs to Salt Lake City, Utah to Mobile, Alabama to Philadelphia. I don’t see much of a correlation between those cities so I may have to do another deep dive tonight.
If I know anything about depression, it is that there can be no rhyme or reason for its sudden onset. In others it can be a postpartum event or drug or alcohol induced. And what treatment works for one person will not work for another. And even when a treatment works it can still stop working suddenly. There is still so much we don’t know about depression but from my friends ongoing story, this new form of ketamine treatment may be life changing.
