Molly interviews Adena, the mother of a severely depressed young man. Trigger Warning: Suicide, Severe Depression

Depression, like most serious illnesses, is best treated within a community of care including friends, therapists, artists, physicians and loved ones. Together Adena and I discuss what that community of care could look like, and the difficulties she faced finding support for herself and her son Jordan. 

Adena emphasizes the importance of habit and routine for depressed young people, as well as finding community and discouraging isolation. She also recommends cultivating things that can bring meaning. Whether it's a class, a job or a pet, this can do a lot to combat hopelessness.

I hope this discussion will help to validate the struggles of friends, family members, and especially the caretakers of mentally ill people like me.

Take a moment to listen to the music of Adena's son Jordan Brooks. It can be found at jordanbrooksmusic.com, and on all the streaming services.

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Further Reading:
Body Dysmorphic Disorder can be found here and here
Dialectical Behavior Therapy can be found here and here
An article on the costs of Special Education is here

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If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, please get help. In the US, you can dial 988. You are never all alone.

Remember to advocate for yourself, and never ration your joy.

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Dive into an inspiring conversation with Rob as he describes his transformative experience with ketamine therapy, the cognitive improvements it can offer, and how it restores brain health.

We discuss Rob's comprehensive online resource, KetamineTherapyForMentalHealth.com, which provides guidance and support for those seeking ketamine treatment. 

This episode is packed with personal anecdotes, expert advice, and practical tips for anyone curious about psychedelic medicine and mental health.

If you enjoy Ketamine Insights, please share it with a friend and rate and review it on your favorite podcast platform. That really helps!

Support us and join our community at https://www.patreon.com/ketamineinsights
or at https://mollydunn.substack.com/ 

Email us at [email protected] (we love to hear from you!)

Our Instagram is @ketamineinsights

You can also find all of our episodes on YouTube and our website https://ketamineinsights.com/ 

In this episode we reference:
https://ketaminetherapyformentalhealth.com/ 

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, please get help. In the US, you can dial 988. You are never all alone.

Remember to advocate for yourself, and never ration your joy.

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Lynn and Molly explore the challenges and importance of asking for help with ketamine treatments. They discuss the role of shame in mental illness, the benefits of community support, and practical steps for seeking assistance. With personal stories and specific tips, this episode sheds light on the emotional and logistical aspects of getting the help we need.

Please subscribe, follow, rate, and review us on your preferred podcast platform. Engagement makes the algorithm overlords smile upon Ketamine Insights, which helps us reach more people.

Join our community and support our show at patreon.com/ketamineinsights or mollydunn.substack.com

Email us at [email protected]. We love to hear from you!

Our Instagram is @ketamineinsights 

Find all our episodes on our YouTube channel!

Our website ketamineinsights.com

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, please get help. You are never all alone. In the US, you can dial 988.

Chapters

00:00 Theme Song and Introduction

01:52 Seeking Community Support to Fund Ketamine Care

04:02 A Cousin's Lasting Impact

05:58 Disclosure as an Antidote to Shame

09:28 Self Reliance as a Trauma Response

10:13 A Community Chips In

13:25 Specific, Amorphous, and Long Term Help

15:21 Ways to Help with Ketamine Care

15:57 Rollerskating in Airports

17:40 The Cost of Ketamine Care in US and Australia

19:50 Sharing What You're Going Through, But Like REALLY

22:39 The Value of a Story

28:40 Setting Expectations When Seeking Support

33:37 We All Know Someone Who Won't Ask for What They Need

35:45 Final Thoughts and Farewell

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Explore various ways to access ketamine care in the US. Hosted by a long-term ketamine patient, this episode covers the gold standard (talk therapy and ketamine treatment combined in one practice), the services offered by ketamine clinics, and the evolving option of at-home ketamine administration. Learn about the costs, benefits, and potential pitfalls of each approach, and gain valuable insights to help you navigate your mental health journey. For more resources, including a written version of this episode, visit our Patreon and Substack pages. While you're there, take a moment to contribute if you can.

ketaminetherapyformentalhealth.com is a wonderful resource for patients and prospective patients.

Articles we mention in this episode

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/20/us/ketamine-telemedicine.html

https://psychedelic.support/resources/coming-to-terms-ketamines-addictive-potential

Our music is by Solid State Symphony.

Email us at [email protected]. We love to hear from you!

Our Instagram is @ketamineinsights

You can also find all of our episodes on YouTube

Join our community on Substack or Patreon

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, please get help. In the US, you can dial 988. You are never all alone.

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We hear a powerful story about the power of MDMA to help heal PTSD.

An FDA advisory committee recently voted against approval of MDMA as a treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), despite extremely promising results from clinical trials. So, in this episode, Molly speaks with Cristina Pearse, founder and CEO of the Protea Foundation, who received MDMA treatment as part of the recent trials. Cristina describes the impact of her childhood trauma as a powerful tsunami. With the help of MDMA-assisted therapy, she says, it became just a puddle at her feet. 

Together, we discuss the potential of this medicine, the FDA study design, the recent vote, and the role of advocacy in securing access to this life saving medicine.

If you enjoy Ketamine Insights, please share it with a friend and rate or review it on your favorite podcast platform. Online engagement  (ie. ratings and reviews) helps us reach a larger audience.

A New York Times article about the FDA vote on MDMA, which took place on June 4, 2024: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/04/health/fda-mdma-therapy-ptsd.html

You can read (MDMA applicant) Lykos' response to the vote here: https://news.lykospbc.com/2024-06-13-Lykos-Therapeutics-Statement-on-FDA-Advisory-Committee-Meeting

Support us and join our community at https://www.patreon.com/ketamineinsights
or at https://mollydunn.substack.com/ 

Email us at [email protected] (we love to hear from you!)

You can also find all of our episodes on YouTube and our website https://ketamineinsights.com/ 

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, please get help. In the US, you can dial 988. You are never all alone.

As always: Remember to advocate for yourself, and never ration your joy.

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Lynn and Molly discuss Somatic Therapy and Internal Family Systems (IFS), two therapeutic modalities often used alongside ketamine treatments. Molly shares a story of Somatic Experiencing, describing how different body sensations revealed helpful emotional insights. We discuss the interweaving relationships between trauma, the body, talk therapy, and therapeutic ketamine.

The conversation then shifts to Internal Family Systems, exploring how listening to our different internal "parts" can bring healing. We emphasize that, within IFS, every part of you gets a seat at the table, gets to be heard and understood. We discuss the IFS concept of an internal "Self," a permanent and unbreakable internal place of connectedness from which we can facilitate our own healing.

Throughout, we highlight how ketamine can work alongside these modalities.

Lorna Skuraton, LMT is the brilliant massage therapist, holder of space, and healer that Molly mentions at the top of the episode. If you're in Chicago, check out her company Venous Return for wonderful massages and powerful Somatic Experiencing sessions.

If you enjoy Ketamine Insights, please share it with a friend and rate and review it on your favorite podcast platform. Online engagement  (ie. ratings and reviews) helps us reach a larger audience.

Support us and join our community at https://www.patreon.com/ketamineinsights
or at https://mollydunn.substack.com/

Email us at [email protected] (we love to hear from you!)

You can also find all of our episodes on YouTube and our website https://ketamineinsights.com/ 

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, please get help. In the US, you can dial 988. You are never all alone.

Remember to advocate for yourself and never ration your joy

Support the show

Host Molly welcomes midwife and activist Betsy Merbitz to discuss the importance of patient-centered care in childbirth and in psychedelic therapies. Our conversation delves into the distinctions between holistic and medical models, focusing on the role of the individual as the primary healer. Betsy describes her work as a Certified Professional Midwife, the importance of holding space, and the historical context of the medicalization of birth. We explore the role of profit-seeking in the creation of our current healthcare systems while bemoaning the lack of accountability built into those systems. 

We note that both psychedelics and childbirth have long histories of traditional and community-based care providers, and we discuss the dangers of excluding them in favor of for-profit models. The episode concludes with insights on how to center patient voices in the emerging field of psychedelic medicine, drawing parallels to the birth community.

In this episode we reference Dr. Neel Shah. Here are two articles about his work. These articles unfortunately do not use gender inclusive language.
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/hospital-management-practices-cesareans/
https://www.consumerreports.org/c-section/biggest-c-section-risk-may-be-your-hospital 

We also reference Ayize Jama-Everett, one of the creators of the documentary A Table of Our Own.  The interview I reference is from an episode of the Psychedelics Today podcast, which can be found here.

If you enjoy Ketamine Insights, please share it with a friend and rate and review it on your favorite podcast platform. Online engagement (such as ratings and reviews) helps us reach a larger audience.

Support us and join our community at https://www.patreon.com/ketamineinsights
or at https://mollydunn.substack.com/ 

Email us at [email protected] (we love to hear from you!)

You can also find all of our episodes on YouTube and our website ketamineinsights.com   
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, please get help. In the US, you can dial 988. You are never all alone.

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Lynn is back(!) for a fun conversation about holistic ways to improve mental health. From exercise and energy healing to sobriety and sleep hygiene, we discuss practices that can complement ketamine therapy,

A companion episode to S1 Ep3 ("Comparing Depression Treatment Options"), this episode can help you feel empowered to choose which of your many treatment options you want engage in, and how. Treat it like a buffet and take what you like :-)

If you enjoy Ketamine Insights, please share it with a friend and rate and review it on your favorite podcast platform. That really helps us reach more people!

Join our community at https://www.patreon.com/ketamineinsights
or at https://mollydunn.substack.com/
Email us at [email protected] (we love to hear from you!)
Our Instagram is @ketamineinsights
You can also find all of our episodes on YouTube and on our website ketamineinsights.com  

In this episode we reference:
Christopher Germer's book The Mindful Path to Self Compassion
We Can Do Hard Things podcast Episode 215 with Andrea Gibson
SmartRecovery.org for resources and meetings to help with substance overuse issues through a harm reduction model
Qigong (we love https://www.youtube.com/c/QigongMeditation)

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, please get help. In the US, you can dial 988. You are never all alone.

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Angel takes us with her on several profound psychedelic journeys, including one in which she finally realizes: "My God, I'm beautiful."

Ketamine therapy brings new levels of peace in this episode - the second half of our conversation from last week. Angel and I discuss grief and forgiveness in the context of complicated loss. She describes how she knows when she needs another treatment, and the beauty of being able to communicate with her support network.

We revel at the power of a good example.

Angel gives some perspective on music and physical comfort during ketamine journeys. And we end with some practical advice for clinicians, allies, and people who are interested in ketamine therapy for their own stubborn depression.

This conversation is the second of two parts, Part One was published January 15, 2024.

Help us by subscribing via Patreon Patreon.com/ketamineinsights or Substack mollydunn.substack.com

Email us at [email protected]

Transcripts are available at our website ketamineinsights.com

Our Instagram is @ketamineinsights

You can also find all of our episodes on YouTube

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, please get help. In the US, you can dial 988. You are never all alone.

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(TW: Suicide) Listener Angel describes working with ketamine after many devastating personal tragedies. For her, ketamine is a lifeline. 

After a lifetime of traumas, she describes feeling like "one of those people who couldn't be helped." Thankfully, ketamine - together with therapy, writing, and solid family support - has led her to feel lighter. Now, she says, she can coexist with her memories.

Like many of us, Angel has had spiritual experiences with ketamine, leaving her feeling divinely protected and loved. As someone trying to heal from grief, trauma, and serious mental illness, I learned a lot from this conversation. Angel's story encompasses the gravity, joy, and profound meaning that some of us experience once we start working with ketamine.

This conversation will come out in two parts. Part Two will drop next week. Subscribe to Ketamine Insights on any podcast platform to get the next episode (and future episodes) automatically. If you're new to podcasts, email us and we'll show you how. (Really!)

If you're able, please subscribe via Patreon (Patreon.com/ketamineinsights) or Substack (mollydunn.substack.com)

You can always reach us at [email protected]

Transcripts are available at ketamineinsights.com

Our Instagram is @ketamineinsights

You can also find all of our episodes on YouTube

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, reach out. Get help. You are never all alone. In the US, you can dial 988. 

Support the show