After Doing Yoga, You Might Just Feel Better

What is it about practicing yoga that leaves you feeling relaxed, at peace, and just better? Or, less angry? Less sad? Was it because you were physically separated from your phone for more than 30 minutes during waking hours? Or, that you gave yourself permission to let go of that thing, that person, or that fear you hold onto for dear life, for an hour? Was it the simple act of moving your body while also breathing that left you feeling that good?

Depression: A Global Problem

This year, the World Health Organization launched a global campaign on depression, called “Depression: let’s talk”. According to the WHO website, “The goal of the campaign is that more people with depression, everywhere in the world, both seek and get help. Depression is the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide. More than 300 million people are now living with depression, an increase of more than 18% between 2005 and 2015.” If the World Health Organization is devoting an entire year to educating the public on the importance of talking about depression, it’s a problem!

When All Else Fails, Stare at Your Phone...Right!? 

You know that if you would quit smoking, start exercising three days a week, make plans with a friend, keep a gratitude journal, and start eating healthier, you’d be happier, right? You also should “Breathe, and let it go” and know that “Dark days don’t linger for long,” like those Instagram posts tagged #happiness read.

But Then You Feel Worse

There you are, lying in bed, scrolling aimlessly through your phone and wishing you did not need to go to the bathroom because you don’t even have the energy to sit up. You slept 8.5 hours last night, like most nights, yet you don’t feel rested. In fact, you’re exhausted, and there’s zero desire inside of you to get up for class, for work, for breakfast. The new antidepressant your doctor started you on five weeks ago hasn’t made a difference, and you are so sick of changing medications.

Additional reading: SSRIs vs Ketamine Infusions: Everything You Need To Know

So, you continue to scroll through Facebook, looking at pictures of couples smiling, one friend’s weight loss before/after shots, another’s motivational quote for the day, and a shared Bible verse on the importance of having faith. ‘Faith in what!?,’ you ask aloud, and force yourself to roll out of bed, feeling worse about your pathetic life than you did an hour ago.

Seriously…Ketamine!?

Its notoriety as a rave drug jolts folks a bit, when they hear that ketamine is being used to treat refractory depression. Yes, ketamine…the ‘horse tranquilizer’ the drug that has taken many down the ‘K-hole’. That one. Over the past couple decades, scientists have conducted numerous studies that have repeatedly and consistently revealed the efficacy of low-dose ketamine infusions in treating depression in people for whom standard pharmacological treatments have not worked. Ketamine was developed in 1962 and has been used as a general anesthetic for more than 30 years. The drug has a remarkably safe track record when used in clinical settings and is on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines. Ketamine is FDA-approved as an anesthetic, but research continues to inform us that low doses of ketamine, administered intravenously, can produce rapid antidepressant effects.