13 Oct Ketamine: Explained – Part Two

Welcome to the second and final part of our Ketamine: Explained blog series. In our first blog, Ketamine: Explained, we gave you a (very) brief history of Ketamine, explained what a psychedelic trip was, and what you could expect when experiencing a Ketamine trip.

In this second part of the series, we want to delve a little more into the science side of things. We’re going to take a dive into the effects Ketamine has on your brain, how it helps to heal symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD, and whether or not experiencing the trip is actually imperative to healing. 

Ketamine’s Effects on the Brain and How it Helps to Heal You

As of this writing, there is still much research being done on Ketamine’s effects on the brain. What we do know, though, is that the psychedelic affects the brain in two ways: by making changes to its neurochemistry, increasing its neuroplasticity, and affecting the brain’s Default Mode Network.

Neurochemistry

Neurochemistry deals with the neurotransmitters in the brain. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers in the brain that essentially tell our nervous system what to do and when to do it. Like traditional antidepressants, Ketamine affects some of the neurotransmitters in our brain. However, unlike traditional antidepressants, which affect the “happy” neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, Ketamine affects the neurotransmitters glutamate and GABA. Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter, which affects learning and memory, while GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that inhibits nerve transmission to reduce neuronal excitability. It slows down the brain’s neurotransmissions and induces calm.

By affecting this particular combination of neurotransmitters – as opposed to just the “happy” neurotransmitters that traditional antidepressants affect – Ketamine helps to both improve our moods and rapidly decrease suicidality. 

Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to create new connections between neurons, which affects both learning and memory. Ketamine helps to increase neuroplasticity in the brain, which has been hypothesized to help with things like treatment-resistant depression, as one of the underlying causes of TRD (treatment-resistant depression) is reduced plasticity in the brain. According to University of British Columbia researchers, “Effects may ‘reset the system’ by counteracting synaptic deficits, neuronal atrophy, and loss of connectivity in depression.”

Default Mode Network

The term Default Mode Network was coined in 2001 by the American neurologist Marcus E. Raiche and is used to describe the patterns or “ruts” we often find ourselves in when it comes to the common ways we behave and think. 

Imagine you’re in a hedge labyrinth, and you’ve been wandering around for hours, going in circles, unable to find your way out. That is the kind of rut described by the Default Mode Network. Ketamine Therapy lowers those hedges temporarily so that you can see all the different ways out of the labyrinth. This gives you a new perspective on the path you must take to find your way out of this “rut.” Ketamine can’t lead you to the exit, but it can show you the ways in which you can get there. It’s then up to you to find the right path out.

Is a Trip Imperative to Healing?

While many individuals who have tried Ketamine Therapy have found that they’ve had hallucinogenic experiences that have helped them heal from past traumas, the truth is that no, a “trip” isn’t imperative to healing through Ketamine.

You will likely experience some dissociation during Ketamine Therapy, and, as it’s considered a dissociative anesthetic, that’s completely normal. However, it’s not the trip itself that kickstarts your healing, it’s the effects that the medicine has on your brain, as mentioned above. This is why the healing effects of Ketamine continue long after the trip – if you even experience one – is over. 

Dr. John Krystal, Yale School of Medicine’s and Yale-New Haven Hospital’s chief of psychiatry states that “when Ketamine is in your system, you’ll likely have the dissociative effects, but that’s not the treatment. That’s just something you go through to get the treatment. The Ketamine treatment is the reaction of your brain to Ketamine, how your brain responds to exposure to Ketamine.”

If the stigma surrounding psychedelics and the fear of having to go through a psychedelic “trip” are what has been keeping you from healing through Ketamine Therapy, it’s time to stop worrying and start your new life now.

If you’re interested in learning more about Ketamine Therapy or want to set up an appointment for an evaluation to see if Psychedelic Ketamine Therapy is right for you, visit MY Self Wellness, or contact us at (239) 908-9958. It’s time to break the bonds of mental illness and get relief today.