A friend’s mother has been battling depression for a very long time. She tried all conventional therapy and anti-depressant but nothing worked. That’s when my friend heard about ketamine therapy and after doing a lot of research, he decided to ask his mother if she was open to the idea of undergoing ketamine therapy. To the mother, ketamine was an anesthetic used in operating rooms not a treatment for mental health. But after years of battling severe depression resistant to traditional medications, she decided to try it.
Her first session took place in a quiet clinic, lights dimmed, soft music playing. As the infusion began, she described feeling “light,” as if her thoughts had untangled themselves. For the first time in years, she felt calm clarity rather than a storm of hopelessness. Within hours, her mood lifted. She felt like she was reborn. In the coming few days my friend noticed significant changes in his mother’s behaviour like significant decrease in fights in the house, she stopped being unreasonable and the mood in the entire house was uplifted.
What Is Ketamine Therapy?
Ketamine therapy uses low doses of the drug to treat:
• Treatment-resistant depression
• PTSD and anxiety disorders
• Chronic pain syndromes
• Suicidal ideation
It acts on NMDA receptors in the brain, promoting new neural connections and enhancing neuroplasticity—essentially “resetting” certain brain pathways.
How Do Patients Feel After Treatment?
Many report a sense of detachment, inner peace, or emotional clarity during the session, followed by improved mood and focus in the days after. Some patients even reported experiencing things from a third-person perspective, weightlessness, altered sense of time, euphoria and a sense of release. However, some may experience brief dissociation or dizziness.
Doctors’ Views: Divided but Evolving
While psychiatrists increasingly acknowledge ketamine’s rapid antidepressant effects, others caution against its long-term use due to limited data and potential for dependency. Still, it’s gaining traction in controlled medical settings worldwide.
Possible Side Effects:
• Nausea or dizziness
• Elevated blood pressure
• Dissociation or perceptual changes
• Rarely, bladder or cognitive issues with prolonged misuse
I even spoke to my friend’s mother and she said, ketamine therapy wasn’t a “miracle cure,” but it opened a door that once felt permanently closed. For many, it represents a bridge between despair and hope and for some even life and death.
Would you consider ketamine therapy for your loved ones or for yourself?
MBH/AB