You might have seen Ketamine in the news recently. As we live through an unprecedented series of global disasters and traumas, the impact on our collective mental health is easy to imagine. Depression and anxiety are both at an all time high. Our stress levels are spiking and everyone is seeking a way to alleviate the toll on our lives even though we are still experiencing the traumas every day.

We haven’t talked a lot about mental health thus far but there are a number of things that support general health that are also effective for supporting one's mental health. Depression and anxiety are often tied to hormonal imbalances. Anything from a lack of serotonin and dopamine to too much estrogen and testosterone can cause a shift in how the brain operates. Some of these hormones are made while we sleep and some are boosted by regular exercise. We often think about how easy it is to pick up vices or bad habits but good habits like drinking enough water, getting regular amounts of sleep and consistent exercise also support the brain's ability to continue to pursue those same things moving forward.

Sometimes though, we are forced to experience stressors of some kind or another. Recently we’ve all experienced the stress of a global pandemic. Some of us have endured financial difficulty from job loss, sickness or other factors altogether. Family issues, work strain, injury, etc. all contribute to the amount of stress you may experience day-to-day. While healthy habits will allow you to manage these challenges more effectively, stress will still cause hormones like cortisol to build up in the brain over time. Regular sleep helps to flush out these build ups but if the stresses drag on, we become more and more vulnerable to the build up of hormones that interrupt some of our healthier coping activities and can lead us to waste our energy trying to stay afloat.

For many, the only way to halt a spiral down into detrimental cycles is to use a hormone based medication to supplement their normal production. One of the big risks of this option is that it may affect the body’s ability to naturally produce the needed hormones once an artificial source is introduced. Ketamine is gaining attention and a modest spotlight because it’s function is a bit different from traditional medications. Instead of artificially introducing the hormone that the brain is lacking, Ketamine stimulates the creation of the system that produces the needed hormone. This is also why medically administered ketamine causes long lasting benefits even after it's no longer being taken. You might also be aware that ketamine was and still is a very dangerous recreational drug and is incredibly addictive. So, while there seem to be some obvious benefits, there are also some extremely concerning downsides as well. Next time we will talk more about the pros and cons of this new treatment and take a look at why some might still consider it if they have severe depression.