Ethan was in his second semester of his first year in college. The new had worn off, and the classes were getting harder. He hadn’t had to work that hard to do well in high school and being challenged felt more like being overwhelmed. He studied hard for chemistry, but he really struggled to get a handle on it. Instead of A’s he was making B’s and C’s in that class and was feeling stupid for the first time in his life. He had never worked at a job before now, but had to work 20 hours a week doing something he hated…making cold calls to alumni to raise funds. It was part of his financial aid. To make things worse, his social anxiety was kicking up with all the stress, making those calls torture. Ethan wasn’t starting as a college student out front, unfortunately.
His friendships were few, because forming connections took so much energy and he felt more and more depleted. HIs roommate was a nightmare…clearly someone who needed some sort of treatment.
The guy would hide behind the door and jump out screaming at him when he walked in the room. Bizarre was an understatement. Rather than a place of rest and refuge, his dorm room was a torture chamber except when his roommate went home for the weekend. Relief was hard to find, and the stress just kept building.
As time passed, Ethan’s anxiety kept rising. Test anxiety, social anxiety, and worry grew and billowed, choking his ability to function. Worse and worse. He had expected to do well, but his stressors were preventing him from being a college student out front of the crowd.
When he reached the breaking point, he would stay in bed and skip classes as well as work. A day in bed in a dark room seemed to give him the courage to face another day…until it didn’t.
His grades began to decline.
The worse his grades, the more guilty he felt. He didn’t want to face his parents with what had happened this semester. He began drinking to relieve the guilt. It wasn’t partying because he had too much anxiety to face a crowd. He had never used alcohol before, because he’d always had his mind on performing well in school. But that wasn’t happening anymore. He didn’t know what to do.
Realizing he was going to fail the semester if he didn’t take action, Ethan went to the campus counseling center and talked to a therapist. He told him the trouble he was having with everything. He asked what could be done about his record when he was too anxious and depressed to function, much less improve his grades.
The therapist recommended a leave of absence to give him time for treatment and therapy so he could function again and improve his grades.
She also gave him a card for a therapist, and another one for a psychiatric practice that offers ketamine treatment. And she encouraged him to spend some time with his parents to talk through all that had happened, and determine the best steps to take.
Anxiety disorder is the most common disorder in college students, and generalized anxiety disorder is often diagnosed during college. It exhibits itself often as worry that won’t stop, and can often be accompanied by social anxiety or panic attacks. Add to that the prevalence of depression which often accompanies untreated anxiety, and you can see the very real risk to college students for things to fall apart caused by the new stressors they face.
Suicidal thinking, planning, and attempts threaten college students — and suicide is the third leading cause of death for young adults.
Eating disorders are also high on the list of disorders threatening college students. ADHD and autism often get identified for the first time are also prevalent. Sometimes psychotic symptoms begin.
All these challenges face a growing number of young adults between ages 17 and 25. Since college students aren’t known for seeking help, many end up being placed on suspension without effective treatment. In addition, the prevalence of disorders sometimes clogs the healthcare system in universities.
But when parents and students identify symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and suicidal thinking, they can receive IV ketamine treatment and in most cases find relief and even remission.
IV ketamine doesn’t resolve everything, but for these conditions it can give you your life back. Initiative, motivation, clarity of thinking, hope… freedom from feeling overwhelmed and confidence can set your college students on firm ground for embracing challenges. If you have social anxiety it can be transformative for you.
It doesn’t work for everyone, but IV ketamine can be transformative for many.
The key to understanding why college students may be overcome with anxiety, depression, PTSD, and suicidal thoughts is stress. Their increased stressors wear down the synaptic connections between brain cells that are the pathways for signals throughout the brain. When those pathways wear down, signals can’t be sent, and thoughts become less prolific…dull…dark.
IV ketamine treatment turns on mRNA which switches DNA to ON to turbo boost brain-derived-neurotrophic-factor. BDNF restores and proliferates those synapses creating strong and broad pathways for messages, filling your mind with problem solving, creativity, and hope.
If your student is struggling with anxiety, depression, PTSD, or suicidal thinking, call us.
We offer IV ketamine treatment so he can experience freedom from fear, lifting of depression, relief from PTSD, and the end of suicidal thinking. If he’s had difficulty with academic demands, ketamine can put your college student out front again.
Let us help your student excel like he used to.
To the restoration of your best self,
