For some, COVID-19 stress, holiday stress, election stress, and financial stress aren’t the only mental health struggles on our plates. For those of us who struggle with seasonal depression, the changing seasons can herald in a new wave of mental heath challenges, making everyday life more difficult. Especially this year, depression is on the rise, meaning that finding ways to cope with seasonal depression are more important now than ever.
Depression can be complicated to treat — from changing lifestyle practices, hormonal/neurological treatments, medical prescriptions, and more, there are countless ways people cope. However, for those who feel like they’ve exhausted their resources and still struggle with depression, frustration and hopelessness can quickly settle in. Fortunately, a new, revolutionary method of treating depression is rising in popularity: Ketamine treatments.
While Ketamine has been used as anesthesia on the battlefield and in hospitals for decades, since the 1990s Ketamine has been used for its powerful anti-depressant power. Because of the way Ketamine interacts with glutamate in the brain, Ketamine can address symptoms of depression that are otherwise medication-resistant. This means that for those who don’t find relief in pills, prescriptions, and other medications, Ketamine provides a window of hope.
What Makes Ketamine Different?
Most efforts in treating anxiety and depression focus on medications that control serotonin and norepinephrine. For some, these treatments work, while for others, they don’t. Ketamine addresses glutamate, providing a new, effective avenue for treating depression.
How Are Ketamine Treatments Given?
Ketamine treatments are administered to patients through an IV under the careful watch of one of our highly qualified, experienced doctors. State-of-the-art technology is used to monitor the patient’s heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen, and watch out for any side effects. After the infusion, the patient is monitored for around an hour or two, then can go home.
While, like any medication, Ketamine treatments aren’t guaranteed to work for everyone, it has an exceptionally high success rate. Positive effects can be experienced shortly after treatment, or after a couple of treatments. Generally, Ketamine for depression is administered in 4 treatments total, then maintenance treatments are scheduled accordingly.
What Does Ketamine Feel Like?
Because of Ketamine’s hallucinogenic properties that occur in key brain receptor sites, Ketamine infusions can instantly give relief to those struggling with depression. While this sounds unusual at first, it actually plays a key role in re-wiring and helping the brain regrow connections to properly improve everyday life. In our clinic, we’re pleased to report that 70% of patients who’ve been treated with Ketamine infusions for depression report that they’re feeling happier and mentally healthier after the very first infusion. Even more patients report positive changes after their second treatment, and so on.
Directly after the infusion, the patient may feel “dream-like” and a bit “fuzzy”, although that fades. After their first or second treatments, patients often go home feeling much happier, active, hopeful, and relieved. For more information about what Ketamine feels like during and after treatment, click here.
Will Ketamine Cure My Depression?
While Ketamine’s results are revolutionary, it isn’t a “quick-fix drug”. Rather, Ketamine has perceived properties to help rewire the brain, which means it addresses far more than just the symptoms of depression. Ketamine treatments seek to address depression long-term by directly influencing mental receptors. While it’s not yet possible to say whether Ketamine can cure depression, it certainly has been life-changing for countless people struggling with depression.
With mental health issues increasingly becoming the #1 concern that modern health advocates are seeking to solve, Ketamine may just be that solution. Let’s start the holiday season off right and help you find hope for seasonal depression. We’d love to see you in Virginia’s premier Ketamine infusion clinic in Leesburg.
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