Content note: This episode contains discussion of death by suicide. If this is something you would rather not be exposed to, please skip between 36:00 and 44:15.

“If we can see the root cause, we can actually solve the situation.” - Katie Walker

This episode of the Webdelics Podcast delves into the raw, unfiltered reality of adolescent mental health and the controversial role psychedelics can play in its treatment. Host Scott Mason is joined by Katie Walker to challenge the conventional narrative surrounding mental health in adolescence, examining the frequent misdiagnosis in the psychiatric field, the overreliance on medication, and the transformative potential of alternative treatments.

Katie Walker is a seasoned nurse with 20 years of professional experience and two advanced degrees in anesthesia and psychiatry. She is the founder of Revitalist, a company specializing in providing relief for treatment-resistant conditions. Her personal experience with loss and trauma has influenced her professional journey, and she has dedicated her career to helping children, adolescents, and adults cope with their mental health issues. 

Highlights from the conversation:

• Pharmaceuticals are badly overused for mental health. Katie says, "Unfortunately, we're giving these kids benzodiazepines at little tiny ages of like four years old and five years old... We're trying to manage the symptoms instead of actually looking at the root cause."
• According to Katie, "78% of people in the mental health space are misdiagnosed. That means we need to stop diagnosing people because we're worse than placebos."
• Highlighting the apprehension many adults have in dealing with adolescents, Katie observes, "most adults are scared to death to talk to adolescents, especially providers…" She underscores that we’ve all been there, and could approach these conversations with empathy and understanding.
• It's not uncommon for parents to bring their children in thinking there's something wrong with them, but often the issue can be traced back to the parent-child relationship itself, and effective communication is one of the cures. 
• Research shows a link between children's sleep patterns and suicidal tendencies: children who are not sleeping have a higher risk of suicide. If a child tells you that they can’t sleep, that is the time to start seeking help.
• Katie believes that children's minds are being overstimulated with data and the pressures of modern life. Skills such as meditation, yoga, and breath work could help children process their feelings and experiences. However, "We're not teaching them any of those skill sets. We're pushing them and pushing them and pushing them constantly until they're literally breaking."
• Ketamine therapy as a treatment option. It has been in use for over 50 years in various medical settings and puts the brain into a meditative state where a child (or adult!) can see an issue or feeling clearly, as if from a third party perspective. This allows the child and their care provider to have a much deeper understanding of and conversation about what is really going on, and a single ketamine infusion session can be the equivalent to dozens of sessions in therapy.
• Ketamine stimulates an organic reaction in the brain that allows the brain to regenerate on its own. The treatment can help children understand and manage their unique emotional makeup, rather than suppressing their feelings.
• Scott notes that lamenting that solving the epidemic of medicating kids with one kind of drug by medicating them with another kind seems contradictory, and Katie explains the key difference is in the length of treatment. Ketamine, unlike an antidepressant, is delivered over a short time-frame and not permanently or long-term, and goes on to explain the mechanism at play in the brain and body. 
• We have to change the narrative around suicidal thoughts; instead of mandating immediate medical intervention, we can suggest alternative coping mechanisms and safety plans to deal with such thoughts. When people feel entirely out of control, their brains might produce thoughts of suicide as a counter-measure for regaining control. At some point, everyone may experience suicidal thoughts and that it doesn't necessarily signify that something is inherently wrong with them. 
• Society as a whole needs more love, acceptance, and appreciation. “Everyone deserves to be loved and to be appreciated, right? And to be accepted. Love, acceptance and appreciation. We don't do that in society right now," Katie laments. We could greatly benefit from mutual respect and understanding between different generations, leveraging the wisdom of the older generations and the vitality of the younger ones because “It takes a village to help us all evolve as good humans."
• What the risks of ketamine treatments are, and how parents can mitigate them if it is a direction they would like to explore. Katie talks about both those risks and the risks of not pursuing treatment when it is warranted.

Resources

Katie Walker on the web | LinkedIn

Video: Katie Walker on Ketamine and Addiction

Webdelics 

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