Synopsis: Learn what to expect during ketamine therapy, including key preparation steps, emotional responses and tools to navigate your ketamine infusion experience.
This blog is adapted from the transcript of the above video During Ketamine Therapy: What To Do and What To Expect | Compilation
What to Do & Expect During A Ketamine Treatment
Are you considering ketamine therapy and wondering what to expect? In this blog, we will
guide you through the key steps and important aspects of the treatment process, plus what happens during a ketamine infusion, how to navigate challenging experiences, and what to expect emotionally.
There’s a lot so here’s what we’re covering. Read all the topics or jump to the information you want now:
During your ketamine treatment, it’s normal to feel a variety of emotions from joy to sadness to fear. Each person’s ketamine journey is unique.
What To Expect During A Ketamine Treatment
Ketamine therapy is a unique treatment, and every clinic operates differently. At our clinic, the process typically starts with a screening with the ketamine specialist and a review of medical records before scheduling the infusion.
Upon arrival, patients complete paperwork, get their weight checked and are brought into the infusion room. Once in the room, vital signs such as heart rate, oxygen levels, and blood pressure are monitored. An IV is established in a suitable area, and the dose is based on the patient's body weight, typically starting at 0.5 milligrams per kilogram.
The infusion process takes around 40 minutes, during which emotions may arise, such as joy, sadness, or fear. We encourage our patients to allow these feelings to flow and simply observe what comes up. Breathing deeply can help regulate the nervous system; once the infusion ends, the effects fade within minutes.
Depending on the dose, along with other factors - how long a patient may take to recover can vary. Afterwards, patients can share and reflect on the experience they just had and discuss any insights with a focus on integration.
Your First Ketamine Infusion: What to Expect
Let’s start with the fact that it’s completely normal to feel nervous before your first ketamine infusion. Many patients compare the experience to standing at the edge of a diving board for the first time. While it’s natural to feel some fear, taking that leap often leads to discovering that it wasn’t as scary as expected.
So what’s the infusion really like? Some patients experience a wide range of emotions, memories, or visuals. With ketamine therapy, there are four types of experiences or states that Dr. Eli Kolp identified:
Empathogenic
Out-of-body
Near-death
Ego-dissolving transcendental
While each experience is unique, old emotions may surface, providing an opportunity for healing. During the dissociative state induced by ketamine, insights may arise about life changes or personal relationships.
What can you do with what you experienced during the treatment? Integrate it! And one of the ways you can do this is through journaling. Writing these thoughts down can help make sense of the lessons or insights gained. Plus, speaking with a trusted mental health professional after the session can also be helpful, and necessary for some.
There are several tools you can use to navigate a challenging ketamine infusion experience.
3 Navigation Tools To Use During A Ketamine Infusion
Sometimes the ketamine treatment can get a little challenging, overwhelming, and even scary. So what is a patient to do? Remember that you should always have a means of asking for help during the treatment. Therefore, make sure the clinic you are getting the infusion in has gone through this with you. For some, it may be pressing a button, or simply saying “I need help”. At our clinic you will always have a person in the room, holding space for you to make sure you are both physically and emotionally safe.
On the other hand, there are things you can do yourself to navigate a challenging treatment experience. Let’s go over the three primary tools to help you navigate the experience: witness, breathe, and surrender.
First, witness the experience as an observer, without becoming entangled in what is happening. Seeing something weird or scary - get curious. Witness and observe what you are seeing. Be a detached observer of whatever is going on.
Second, focus on breathing, as deep breaths help regulate the nervous system, calming the body and mind. As you witness what you see, take deep belly breaths in through the nose, and exhale out through the mouth.
Finally, surrender to the experience by allowing it to unfold without resistance. Trust the process and know that your mind will take you where it needs to go during the ketamine therapy.
Curious to explore more about dealing with a challenging ketamine experience? Do what you can to avoid a tough experience in our “How to Prevent A Bad Ketamine Trip” blog post.
Why You Are Crying During Ketamine Therapy
Crying during a ketamine infusion is common; more common than the general public knows. So you shouldn’t be surprised if you notice you are experiencing tears during the treatment - especially if you don’t cry much during your everyday life.
Ketamine therapy seems to break down barriers between the conscious and unconscious mind. This can result in a release of emotions, whether from sadness or joy, which can be therapeutic. Tears are a natural part of the healing process. Think of it as another way the body gets rid of waste, and in this case - emotional waste.
Some patients may not cry at all or may cry during every session, and this can indicate that repressed emotions are finally being released. If crying happens, embrace it as part of the healing journey. Processing these emotions with a therapist or through personal reflection afterward can continue and maximize the healing that was catalyzed during the treatment.
We encourage our patients to keep their eyes closed during the ketamine therapy to allow them to journey inward.
Should I Keep My Eyes Open During Ketamine Therapy?
“Eyes opened or closed?”, is a common question we’ve been asked. While there is variation from clinic to clinic, at our clinic, we recommend patients keep their eyes closed during ketamine therapy using eyeshades we provide.
Why? We take the perspective that the treatment is intended to be an internal experience. In other words, you experiencing you, allowing your mind to journey inward. Often our daily lives are spent observing and reacting to the external world.
But during a ketamine infusion, the focus should be on exploring the internal world. Keeping the eyes closed helps nurture this introspective experience, and in our opinion, enhances the therapeutic benefits.
Conclusion
We hope this blog has offered valuable insights and practical tips on what to do and expect during a ketamine infusion treatment. We find that understanding what to expect during ketamine therapy can help you feel more prepared and confident in your treatment journey.
By embracing the process, using the tools available to navigate the experience, and integrating insights afterward, you can quell your nerves and support maximizing your healing journey.
If you found this blog post helpful, you might want to check out these too:
Before Ketamine Therapy: What To Do & What To Expect
Discover essential tips for a successful ketamine therapy journey. Learn about preparation, key questions to ask, and maximizing benefits through integration.
What Will Your Ketamine Experience Be Like?
At our clinic, we often get questions about what a ketamine infusion is like. People want to know what to expect! In this blog post, we share one way we go about answering this question, using the analogy of going to a restaurant.
5 Insights On Handling Difficult Emotions That Are Holding Us Back
Learn 5 insights about your feelings that Dr. Ko learned from Constructive Living By David K. Reynolds. We hope these insights help you gain a new perspective about your feelings, which can help you create more empowering mental habits on your journey to self healing.
Learn what to expect during ketamine therapy, including key preparation steps, emotional responses, and tools to navigate your ketamine infusion experience.
