As I am completing the documentation for my Ketamine experience as part of the Psychedelic Assisted Therapy I am enrolled in, I thought I would share parts of it with you.
I’m excited for the experience. But even more so now. It’s pretty rare that medical release forms are this interesting!
Ketamine is classified as a dissociative anesthetic, “dissociative” meaning a sense of disconnection from one’s ordinary reality and usual self. At the dosage level administered to you, you will most likely experience mild anesthetic, anxiolytic, antidepressant and, potentially, psychedelic effects. Recent work has demonstrated the possibility of an antidepressant response to low doses of Ketamine – administered intravenously, intramuscularly, intranasally and sublingually (orally) – that produce minimal psychedelic effects; this antidepressant effect tending to be more sustained with repeated use—in other words, a cumulative effect.
It is our view that psychedelic, ‘dissociative’ experiences may well be instrumental in providing a more robust effect. This may well include a positive change in outlook and character that we term a ‘transformative’ response.
Essential to the method is a time-out of usual experience, this period being of varying duration, usually thirty (30) minutes to two (2) hours, that tends to be dose and method of administration related. Relaxation from ordinary concerns and usual mind, while maintaining conscious awareness of the flow of mind under the influence of Ketamine is characteristic. This tends to lead to a disruption of negative feelings and obsessional preoccupations. It is our view that this relief and the exploration and experience of other possible states of consciousness are singularly impactful.
The purpose of the intravenous/intramuscular Kketamine treatment is to create a non-ordinary (“altered”) state of consciousness in order to facilitate profound transpersonal (“transcendental”, “mystical”, “spiritual”, “religious”) peak experiences.
These may prove to be auspicious in resolving your existential problems, accelerating your psycho-spiritual growth and leading to a deep personal transformation and optimization of your lifestyle. Such change is best facilitated within a structured supportive psychotherapeutic milieu. As a byproduct of the Ketamine treatment, you may well feel improvement in your emotional state and reduction in symptoms that bother you such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic manifestations. You may well notice that you are a bit different after the Ketamine treatment and that difference may well be liberating and allow for new mindfulness and new behavior.
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