Depression, Substance Abuse & Suicide

On Wednesday, May 17, 2017, the day the world lost talented musician Chris Cornell to suicide, the National Institutes of Health issued a news release: “Study finds tens of millions of Americans drink alcohol at dangerously high levels”.  Researchers from the NIAAA Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research analyzed data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), a national survey conducted in 2001-2002 and 2012-2013. The surveys examined subjects' alcohol use within the previous year, and its co-occurrence with drug use and psychiatric conditions. The results of the survey? Adults in America are engaging in extreme binge drinking now more than they were ten years prior. 

When you hear the word ‘infusion,’ what comes to mind? A hospital gown? Needles? Doctors and nurses hovering over you in a cold hospital room? Sometimes your associations with certain words can deter you altogether from considering new experiences – especially if those associations elicit fear. 

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?

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.

Disclaimer: As of September 29, 2023, NeuroMend no longer offers Spravato treatments. We apologize for any inconvenience and encourage you to consult with our team or your healthcare provider for alternative options.

What Did They Just Say!? 

Ketamine can help with Treatment Resistant Depression?

If ever in your life you could not pay your electricity bill, you probably were not able to focus on much else. I’m guessing you were not considering ways to improve your relationship with your child, planning a weekend with friends, or even meeting anyone for coffee. You were likely highly stressed and focused only on how you would keep the lights on.

When our basic needs aren’t met, the rest of what might be important cannot be addressed. The mind expends all its energy on securing the necessities to survive. Anything unrelated to making sure you have the essentials is put on the backburner.

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.