Introduction from R&R
This week, in our client’s third Ketamine session, we dive even deeper with her. Last session, she learned to sit with discomfort, and now she is learning to reframe challenges and discouragement. This is huge! Through her beautiful reflections, we are seeing her brain slowly rewired. The Ketamine does its job on a chemical level, and she does her job by earnestly processing and implementing the lessons gleaned from each session. We are so proud of her and so thrilled with the effectiveness of this treatment. Her words express it much better than we could, so enjoy!
xoxo Rachel and Ryan
Session 3: Lucky Girl Syndrome
Session 3 began after a frantic call from one of my kiddos. Like most young adults on their own, mom is often her first call when trouble hits, as she is still learning to navigate adulthood. To say that this poor kid has been experiencing a run of bad luck is an understatement, and much like we all do when this is the case, she couldn’t help but feel like the universe was picking on her. After reminding her that she was ok and that life would feel easier soon, I went in for my third treatment. Still feeling a little uneasy about round two, I settled into the chair, took my pre meds, and breathed some centering breaths to ready myself. My IV was started, and I cozied up under the blanket and set my intention to focus on gratitude.
The medicine snuck up on me like it always does, seemingly having no effect until all of a sudden I was whisked away into a warm, safe dream. It’s so very hard to explain what takes place in a ketamine trip, a “K-hole” as a friend of mine calls it. For me, it is a series of images paired with a full-body experience, like a dream. When I say full-body I mean, it is almost as if my body is humming along to the music, floating up as the music builds tempo and soaring down as the music changes. My body vibrates with energy, and the warmth I refer to is surely related to the warm blanket provided, but it feels as if the dream land I am in is warm and inviting. While there are no words, there is music that very much guides me and changes the landscape and the way my body feels during this experience.
The images I saw this time were all associated with happiness–I should really say luckiness. There is the current viral tiktok in which a woman explains what she calls “Lucky Girl Syndrome” or at least that’s what I think she calls it. She goes on to say that she repeats to herself every morning “ I am so lucky and everything works out for me” and as a result, things do in fact work out for her.
So, here in my safe little ketamine dream, my brain has a major case of lucky girl syndrome. All of my images prove to me over and over that I am the most lucky of them all, and things have always worked out for me. Even the things that were hard and heavy at the time, worked out for the intended reason. During the session it was as if my brain begged the question: when we only focus on the negative (the red lights, the line at the coffee stand, the dozens of annoying small inconveniences we deal with in a day), do we rob ourselves of lucky girl syndrome? Have I been wiring myself wrong my entire life by choosing to let the daily frustrations overshadow the joys? After all, how many of us curse a red light, yet fail to cheer for a green? Maybe the key to everything working out is seeing that it is in fact working out and cheering for that. Those small little things that make life happy everyday–choosing to replace the frustrations for the joys.
What I took away from this session, besides an obvious bump of serotonin, was that I am going to choose to consider the ways the universe conspires for me instead of against me. I am, after all, the luckiest of them all.
Conclusion from R&R
We hope that these reflections have helped to demystify the Ketamine experience. When properly administered and with the correct mindset and sufficient support, this treatment is a safe, effective way to combat the effects of depression.
Please reach out with any questions!
xoxo Rachel and Ryan