Lori Calabrese, MD

Tag: Ketamine Treatment for Treatment-Resistant Depression in Adolescents

The Connection Between a Man’s Violence and His Anxiety: How to Help

Know any men who can flip from mild annoyance to a violent rage in a short minute? Know any women who are wounded and intimidated by a man’s anger? Now if that anger is violent then it’s likely lots of women and children as well are wounded and intimidated by it. Let’s talk about the connection between a man’s violence and his anxiety.

Anxiety/alarm.

A good book written by Russell Kennedy, M.D., titled RX Anxiety, is full of great advice for men whose anxiety is expressed in violence. Dr. Kennedy explains that anxiety is experienced both emotionally …in his mind…and physically, in his body. Anxiety is produced in the mind, and alarm is the result that is experienced in his body…physically.

So it should be no surprise that since a man feels this emotion in mind and body, that it would be expressed in both his mind and his body.

But in his body… how?

One of the human physiology’s way of calming this anxiety/alarm, is crying. When we cry it rewires the brain. But what if, as a boy, they taught you to not cry?

…

Tom was edgy, irritable. He woke up in an ambulance, which caught him off guard. They said he had a blackout. Once at the hospital, ER staff rushed to apply leads to all the right spots on his chest and legs for an EKGs. And then another one. After a variety of tests, they moved him to a cardiac unit in the hospital.

Tom felt fine. What was all the fuss? Then they handed him a pitcher that looked like it would hold a quart of milk with a wide open top. The nurse instructed him to “pee” into the pitcher !?!

He blushed, grumbled, let out a few curse words and said he couldn’t “go” in that sitting position.

From that point on, everything made him madder. Madder and madder. More and more irritated.

When a lunch tray was delivered to him, he cleared it from his bedside table with one angry sweep of his arm. Food, cutlery, his plate and glass, all flew to the side of the room, hitting the chair and wall in a big mess.

His nostrils flared. “Get all this away from me!”

In his most secret place of shame, Tom felt like crying. But that was unthinkable. So he had just lashed out…

A man’s violence and his anxiety are so closely connected. A cardiac event can cause unbearable anxiety in a man, and it’s not unusual for a violent expression to follow.

“Anxiety is an early warning system to help you survive… It’s not there to harm you, but in its constant warnings, it makes you feel unsafe.” -Anxiety RX

Tom may have felt angry and irritable, and may have behaved with a lack of control. But what was really going on?

Anxiety. There is very little in a man’s life to ignite anxiety like a cardiac event. Anxiety was eating Tom up inside.

The “Straw” of Caring for Others Before Yourself Can Break the Camel’s Back

This is such a common situation for men. Men who marry young, for instance, before they’re really equipped to be providers for themselves or a family. Maybe a young pregnant wife, or the perceived need to rescue a girlfriend from an abusive family. Crises like this can seem obvious and necessary, but can lead to a man’s overload.

Or maybe parents whose special needs require unexpected and exorbitant care and financial support.

There are endless possibilities of circumstances that could add the breaking straw to a man’s back resulting in constant worry — like where will I get the money to pay all these bills? and when will I find the time to care for everyone who needs me? And fear of the fallout if he fails…

You’d think true masculinity was just calm and collected happiness. So alpha male that it needs not or worries not. But typically masculine characters are always fighting, and most violence comes from some agitated level of fear and anxiety.”
–Liev Schreiber

Add to that, the belief that a man might unwittingly hold that being a caregiver gives his life power and purpose, a sense that he matters. However, he may not grasp at all that the burden that gives his life power and purpose may also break him under the load of anxiety and violence.

A Man’s Violent Release can Easily Follow the Anxiety that Accompanies His Responsibilities

As we mentioned earlier, all these things can happen to a woman, too. But we’re focusing on men today because they’ve so often been taught to avoid showing their feelings, and to not cry because it’s a sign of weakness. (You know men like this. Maybe you are one. Or maybe you’re a woman who has seen this, over and over) And that can have dangerous results

So when the pressure builds from a mountain of responsibilities they fear they cannot fulfill, instead of crying or panicking, that man can snap and become violent.

So our goal is to help him find ways to lower the pressure far in advance of the melting point.

To help him learn to take care of himself, give himself time to release pressure through enjoyable activities, and to spend time with the people who love him most.

Sons Need to Learn Self Care from Childhood to Equip Themselves to Respond to Stress Because there’s often a Connection Between a Man’s Violence and His Anxiety-Depression

And optimally, we need to train our sons to seek these releases as children and young men, before their responsibilities have so much power.

Each individual treatment room provides privacy and quiet, as well as an incredibly comfortable zero-gravity heated leather recliner — so you can be monitored during treatment, and relax deeply for the best possible infusion experience.

At Innovative Psychiatry, we’re here for you, and for the men in your life. And we love to work with and complement your your healthcare team to offer treatments that can help you or the people you love. When the anxiety is seated in PTSD or social anxiety, IV ketamine treatment can be a remarkable aid. And we can schedule your treatments so that you can to get the most benefit from the neuroplasticity ketamine offers to do the best possible work in therapy.

Above and Beyond

We have a devoted program for administering IV ketamine treatment, and have installed space-age equipment to remove viruses, bacteria, and molds from the air and surfaces. When you come for treatment, you can feel safe from risks–because we go above and beyond to keep you safe! So you can focus on getting better. The environment-purifying technology designed by NASA and the Department of Defense keeps the environmental air and surfaces free of pathogens. There is nothing else even close. We’ve taken the best steps available to ensure your wellbeing when you’re here.

Taking care of yourself, giving yourself what you need, can equip you to take care of all those responsibilities more effectively… and keep the anxiety and depression from overwhelming you.

Anxiety is not something to be ashamed of. It’s not weakness. But, like so many other things, it requires your attention to manage it, seek treatment, and be the best you can be for yourself and those around you.

Anxiety can take on a life of its own, and drive you to do things you would never normally do. If anxiety and/or depression has tried to drive you to violence before, you can kick it to the curb.

Please call us if we can help.

We look forward to working with you.

To the restoration of your best self,

July 12, 2021
Interesting Times: How They Help You Overcome and Help Others, Too
Ask yourself…”Do you prefer good times…or interesting times…?”

We’ve talked about how to recover after a crisis or trauma so you can get back up. Let’s take another step. Let’s talk about making use of your experiences so you can — and will — move forward. First and foremost, like letting go of the memories of falling short in the past. A failed grade, a missed touchdown, the end of a relationship, a project that didn’t impress your boss… or all those times you were late in picking up the kids… or forgot the cupcakes for the classroom on your child’s birthday. Or those painful devastating memories when you over-reacted to your child’s mistake and left her heartbroken. These are the interesting times: how they help you and others depends on how closely tuned in you are to the lessons to be gained and put into practice.

If you continue to revisit these moments of moral failure and apologize for them over and over, you’ll likely find yourself stuck in shame, remorse, and regret. These feelings can be so crippling. And you can find yourself immersed in interesting times… how to recover..?

Move forward and build a rewarding life. To do that, you just must find the way within yourself to LET GO of the past. Only then can you invest in the present and the future, as well.

Let go of the pain, too. A broken relationship, the memories of dysfunction, conflicts, betrayal, harsh, vicious words. All of these create scars, and scars can hold you back, tether you to those experiences and hold you in the past.

So, you have to let those memories go, release them, and embrace your experiences of today. Allow yourself to enjoy the new developments in your life.

Without these crippling memories and the pain…which tend to become the more interesting times that can help you eventually… without them you can’t learn how to exit them. To rise above them. To build your own good times with the insight that you have learned how to navigate another corner of life… because of the challenges, pain, and obstacles you worked to overcome.

Another thing to think about…and apply… is that when someone says something that annoys you, and you allow yourself to react, you’ll be the one who suffers. A big step toward letting go and moving forward is to let go of the need to have the last word, to punish the speaker with your anger, and to lash out.

It’s far more liberating to step back, put on your “logic filter” and run their comment through that. Leave your emotions locked in the closet until you have seen the situation logically, calmly, and with compassion toward yourself and the one who is speaking. Be the presence of peace in the conversation.

Build your sense of optimism on a pragmatic foundation. Rather than thinking of optimism as a DisneyWorld sort of reality, with streamers and balloons and fireworks and cartoon characters skipping around, think in terms of what has happened and the good outcomes that can emerge along with the bad ones.

Dig in to find treasures in your life. Ways you can make the world a better place for others, or just for one person. But watch for those opportunities. Watch for interesting times, how they can help you and others make better decisions on this go round.

Putting Trauma in Its Place

To move forward, there are certainly things that you can do to invite a more hopeful frame of mind. But there are also traumas and pain that have to heal and be put behind you so the “overcoming” efforts can bear fruit for you.

If you’re like most people, there were painful events, confusion, and even trauma and loss that emerged this last year. 2020 is a year we’ll not forget. Odds are, you acquired some trauma and sorrow in the process.

Avoid wallowing. Grief must be faced, then suffered, and put away soon so you have the room in your mind and heart to embrace the good that’s emerging…along with the bad.

The pandemic was …interesting. Not good times. And yet…good things happened. Babies were born, learned to walk and talk, some companies did well. Some employees excelled, and so did some students.

Look back at your resilient moments. What did you learn? Can you take it with you to next year and the year after?

Careers Have Been INTERESTING, TOO Lately… And oh yes…RELATIONSHIPS!

It’s not at all uncommon to enter a career path, and advice comes from everywhere telling you to stick it out, have tenacity and perseverance.

That’s just great advice for lots of things. But how do you know when it’s time to let go?

Well, no one can determine that but you. Whether it’s about a career path, or a relationship, or the city you live in… We know we can miss so much if we cut bait and leave before giving the current situation a chance. (At the same time, when you can see you’re going down with the ship, it may be time to swim for shore before it’s too late.)

Your heart may not want to let go, but your experience says that this is not going to recover and you need to save yourself…to try again another day. Interesting times and how they help you gather the tools you need to move forward, giving your room for more good times to enjoy your life.

Some principles apply to multiple types of situations… like relationships, jobs, projects…Here are some questions you can ask yourself as you work through your decision:
- Do you sense a lack of respect for you in your environment or relationship?
- And maybe most of the time you’re giving more than you take?
- Do you find that you think more about the past than the present? Are you in a good ol’ days mentality?
- Are you crying more than laughing far too often?
- And what about anger? Is it more commonly the way you feel…or is love, contentment, and peace the way you usually feel?
- Is the passion and joy gone?
Do you find you feel “less than others,” because of others’ attitudes toward you?

Do you feel physically and mentally exhausted…most of the time??

If you know what it is to be appreciated, supported to grow and excel, and you’ve been stuck in a situation for a prolonged period of time, it’s possible you are ready to let go. And move forward.

And as you embrace that purpose, you begin to gain from not only the experience, but what you did with it. Purpose, direction, and hope can build and grow in you as a result. And with hope, strength and resilience.

You don’t have all the answers, and neither do we. We’re all seeking to learn from our experiences so we can move forward in life. Because life isn’t perfect for anyone, is it? Fostering resilience is a great place to start.

At Innovative Psychiatry, we wish like you do for the good times…but keep learning that it’s the interesting times that give us more to help you.

It’s also true that sometimes choosing to face the obstacle of interesting times and push through it is overwhelming. Sometimes to face those interesting times you need depression, anxiety, and trauma treated effectively. That’s where IV ketamine treatment can come in.

IV ketamine can do things other medicines haven’t … and it can do so rapidly. That’s why we opened a separate arm of my practice that’s specifically equipped to provide IV ketamine treatment. Ketamine treatment has demonstrated repeatedly its unique ability to smash depression symptoms, sweep away anxiety, and stop suicidal thoughts in their tracks.

Because making this remarkable treatment available to whoever is a candidate for it is so important, we encourage communication from your healthcare team.

We want you to have hope.

And, because the pandemic is still making people sick, we have equipped our offices with technology designed by NASA and the Department of Defense, to clean viruses, bacteria, and molds from the air to help you stay well. We’ve taken every precaution to protect you from infection when you’re with us.

The result is peace of mind so you can focus on getting better.

We invite you to reach out for a treatment that works rapidly in most people, even in interesting times, to restore your motivation, initiative, hope…and creativity. You should have a rewarding and fulfilling life.

To the restoration and fulfillment of your best self,

Lori Calabrese, M.D.
July 5, 2021
Some Wounds ARE Invisible… But There’s HELP… IV Ketamine Treatment Can Crush PTSD. FAST.

June has been National PTSD Awareness Month. And June is nearly over. But PTSD awareness shouldn’t end with June. If you have PTSD, it can go on day after day…after day.

Something terrible happened. Over time, it seemed you slowly got past it. You hardly thought about it anymore. Then, in a split second, you’re there again. Something happens that triggers the memory, and you’re fighting all of the sickening feelings that just well up inside. You’re determined to break free and run. Turns out a friend is hugging you…. And you come back to yourself and feel embarrassed about your “over-reaction.” Some wounds appear invisible. But they run deep, and wide. And when they do, PTSD can be crippling, and it can take you captive in a moment.

National PTSD Awareness Month gives us an opportunity to realize that PTSD exists — more often than you imagine, and in people you’d never suspect… that it’s sometimes surprising in the way it’s triggered… and (so importantly!) that those who suffer from it have experienced severe trauma. While it’s true that two people can suffer the same kind of car crash or the same horrible domestic violence, and only one of the two develops PTSD, that doesn’t mean one is weaker than the other. The impact of PTSD has NOTHING to do with how tough someone is. There are a lot of factors that come together to predispose you to PTSD. Genetics can play a big role. And one huge new mind-blowingly transformative treatment — IV ketamine — can be exceedingly effective.

It’s important for you and for the people you know and love to learn the signs and symptoms of PTSD — for your own health and wellbeing, and to help others who suffer from it. Because since some wounds are invisible, so also the symptoms are sometimes only visible to those closest to the person suffering from them.

You may have symptoms of depression, anger, rage, irritability, suddenly becoming startled… or feeling numb and disconnected. There may be flashbacks or nightmares, or you may just find yourself reliving the terrible experience over and over. You also may have increasingly aroused emotions and mental thoughts, which can make it tough to sleep.

Ok, but there’s more to think about and watch for. Like the types of PTSD. Because all PTSD cases aren’t alike.

PTSD doesn’t accumulate traumas like depression can accumulate “reasons to be depressed.”

Comorbid PTSD – symptoms of trauma combined with symptoms of other disorders.

It’s not at all uncommon for people with comorbid PTSD to also have substance use issues. Because most people who suffer from PTSD typically suffer with more than one disorder, comorbid PTSD is probably the most common form of PTSD. Some disorders that often occur with PTSD are panic disorder and depression.

Normal Stress Response – This occurs during and following an experience that’s traumatic and stressful but before PTSD begins.

Not all people who experience a normal stress response advance to PTSD.

Acute Stress Response – Typically, someone experiences an acute stress response after a huge stress, like being frightened by a perceived predator, a near miss auto accident

…or even a frightening accident where all parties survived. But if acute stress symptoms keep coming back for a month or more, they may be transitioning to PTSD. Symptoms of acute stress response may include headache, sweating, chest pains, palpitations, nausea, and stomach pain. Acute Stress Disorder can be treated using support groups or therapy …and medication. IV ketamine treatment has shown great promise in treatment.

Complex PTSD – This describes a condition associated with more than one traumatic event.

A cluster of events, each driving its own response. And the responses can interfere with each other, drive each other, and complicate each other. Because some wounds are invisible… but still present and exhibiting deep trauma, which causes more of its own.

So… how can you know if you have PTSD? Maybe you feel anxious in the moment, or sudden sounds cause you to jump. Is that PTSD?

When most people go through a shocking or traumatic experience, they feel shaken, and off balance for awhile, but in time and with the kind of self care that helps them feeling their own pain and loss, they usually move on. Certainly they keep a memory that never leaves, but they don’t experience the torment and flashbacks of PTSD.

However, some people are deeply injured by a terrible experience, and may not improve without intensive treatment. As we’ve said before, while we don’t understand all the intricacies to explain why one person suffers so much more extensively than another, we do know there is a genetic link to this process.

If it happened to someone you love, or even to you, would you recognize the symptoms and know what to say in support? If you’re not informed and prepared in advance, you may be tempted to be irritable, dismissive, or annoyed.

First, of course, there has to have been a traumatic event. Something has happened that terrified you, you felt threatened to the point of death, and what you saw in the process was shattering.

Symptoms may emerge within a month…or they may not erupt for years. But once they emerge, they can cause severe problems socially, at work, and in relationships. Because PTSD symptoms show. Whether it’s a sudden panic attack in front of others, and you’re far too disrupted to explain, or in some other way, they make it close to impossible to go about your daily routine. Basic tasks can be impossible.

These symptoms fall into roughly 4 groups:

Intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in thinking …or mood, and changes in your physical and/or emotional reactions.

The symptoms you suffer may vary in intensity. With time, they may seem to disappear, then out of the blue you may be confronted with a moment that mimics that first trauma, and suddenly you’re in it. You’re terrified. You’re fighting for your life. Except that nothing dangerous or life threatening is happening. It just “feels” like it’s the same.

You can see how these moments could be upsetting to friends or co-workers. And eventually embarrassing for you.

You may wonder if you need to see a doctor. If these disturbing moments have been happening for more than a month since the original incident, then it is wise to see a psychiatrist. He or she can be very useful in directing your treatment, or referring you to additional treatment. Your psychiatrist is a specialist. Some wounds are invisible but he or she knows how to find them and treat them, to help you find your way back to a rewarding life.

If you should have suicidal thoughts, call a friend, family member, or a neighbor to spend time with you. Call your doctor to reveal the severity of your symptoms. In a crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800) 237-TALK or text CONNECT to 741741, or call 911. Remember this has nothing to do with your mental strength or courage. The fact that you reach out for help is a great step of bravery for you to protect your well-being.

And if the thoughts are persistent, know that IV ketamine treatment can be dramatically fast working and can stop those thoughts in an afternoon. That reprieve will give you time to seek out more treatments.

At Innovative Psychiatry, we have seen IV ketamine treatment provide a wonderful lifting of symptoms and relief from PTSD to many patients. It’s nothing short of remarkable to see what this treatment can do for someone caught in the throes of trauma. Many patients find talk therapy and other forms distinctly more liberating after ketamine infusions. We like to work with your healthcare team to learn how we can help the process of restoration in your life.

IV ketamine treatment ferrets out the painful memories and thoughts and can dramatically relieve them. Just because some wounds are invisible doesn’t mean they can’t be healed.

Since we know that new strains of COVID are still emerging (and because frankly, we’re a health care office!) we wear masks, and have installed of the top plasma cell air disinfection at a level designed by NASA to remove viruses, bacteria, molds, and pollen from the air in our offices. So you can feel safe when you’re here, and you can focus on receiving treatment and getting better.

You’ll have a zero-gravity, soft leather recliner to make your experience feel well supported and secure, and heat at the touch of a button. We want you to get better, and want to help that happen any way we can.

To the restoration of your best self,

Lori Calabrese, M.D.

June 28, 2021
How to Stay Resilient When Life Changes Knock You Down – Bounce Back!!

Resilience – The power to bounce back emotionally after a major disappointment or event.

Here we are. COVID cases have dropped dramatically…right along with COVID deaths. We’re slowly transitioning from the pandemic to what we hope will be post-pandemic. Slowly over time. It won’t be a one day change, but an advancing progressive adjustment to a less restrictive environment. Some people have stopped wearing masks. However, many of us still do. The CDC says fully vaccinated people can go without wearing masks, especially around others who are fully vaccinated. But this doesn’t apply to those who are unvaccinated. This is one of a thousand frustrations all around you. So you’ll want to stay resilient when life changes–and we’ll give you some ideas how to do that.

A crowd of employers have begun calling employees back to work. Most employers of office workers have moved their employees home to avoid spread of illness, and all those employees are beginning to go back to work little by little. It’s not that they’ve not been working, but they haven’t had a commute as they work and meet on Zoom at home.

Many others, if not most, will wait yet awhile. It does still seem early.

But do you know what we’ve seen?

People struggling with fear, worried whether it’s safe to re-enter company buildings. People who succumbed to depression, PTSD, and anxiety during the worst of COVID-19 and haven’t yet recovered.

So this is not as simple as it may seem.

Of course, our role is NOT to tell you when you should return to work in your company facility. Or when the kids should be back in school.

We just want to help you make the transitions ahead, embrace the adjustment within yourself that will allow you to make this change when the time is right. To help you navigate your concerns or anxiety if you face it.

You may have lost a loved one over the past year. Maybe you had to watch the funeral of a loved one over Zoom or Facetime. That must have been difficult for you. So many incidents and events were shocking. For so many people.

You may have had a baby over the last year. Did you have a COVID baby? We’ve learned that the birth of a baby during all the isolation, social distancing, and mask wearing has created such intense loneliness for some new mothers that postpartum depression has been more widespread and support has been hard to come by for many isolated moms.

One first time mom, who was weeping in frustration and overwhelmed, said, “I’ve always heard it takes a village to raise a child. So WHERE’S MY VILLAGE???” If you’re one of those parents, you will have to find your own transition and recovery. Make sure you’re fully vaccinated so you’re free to seek out friends and family to get their support, and improve your own resilience.

Then there are the children. Children who’ve been involved in distance/remote learning have displayed behavior outbursts and other forms of acting out. But on the other hand, some children thrived from the closer nurturing they felt while being home. And as they move into summer, and then repopulate schools in the fall (or whenever that will happen!) they may need guidance to help them adapt smoothly, re-socialize, and integrate in their school’s routine.

Maybe you’ve asked “Why me?” through the crises and losses the last year and a half. But when you think that way it nurtures self pity…which can be suffocating. Better to ask yourself in that instance…”Why NOT me?” Because if you’re alive in this world you’re going to have struggles, difficulties, and losses.

And you may be tempted to want to run. But resilience comes when you plant your feet, square your shoulders, and get through it. You can be resilient when life changes.

When my friend heard there was a pandemic wrapping around the world, her first thought was to get on a plane and escape it. Then she looked at the charts and maps on the internet and saw that this infection covered the globe, and there was nowhere to run. What a shock that felt like.

But by staying where we are, using personal protective equipment, and isolating ourselves, using social distancing when in public, we as a nation and as a planet have survived together.

Many say, “Failure is not an option”…but actually failure is a requirement for resilience. And in terms of the pandemic, as well as working at home, learning at home, there have been countless efforts that failed and required we try again and again to get whatever the need was to work. Stronger internet connections, getting food to people who needed it, keeping online services up and functioning well.

Here are some strategies for building resilience now:

Recognize that difficulties, losses, and inconveniences are part of life. Realize right off that all these things are not a sign of unfair punishment of you or me, but just part of life. And realize that you’ll find your way through it.

Make the serenity prayer a part of you…to accept things you cannot change. To change those things you can (or change the things you cannot accept.) And hold onto the wisdom to know the difference. So focus on where to put your attention… changing the things you CAN change. And choosing peace about the rest.

Choose Life. Choose what is good for you. Walk away from things that aren’t good for you. (Yep, we said walk away. Seriously walk away…) Then be patient and compassionate with yourself.

Here’s a challenge for you: Every day, list 3 things you’re grateful for. It will help you maintain peace and the strength to face new challenges…because you know that challenges are part of being alive too, right?

And… you know? every time there is a failure, or disappointment, or loss… once you’ve responded to it and moved forward, ask yourself, what you might learn from it… or whether someone was help from the natural fallout of it, etc. There is meaning all around you, and when you’re stressed with difficulty, it’s easy to miss it. So make a point to focus on the meaning you find in all those challenges… that will deepen those roots of resilience, too.

Stay Resilient When Life Changes — If you fall, you can snap right back up on your feet

Of course, not everyone can effectively build their own treasure chest of resilience. A disorder can make that very difficult. So we do offer IV ketamine treatment to help restore your resilience. To help your brain restore it’s own synapse connections, to take the G proteins off those rafts in the cell membrane and put them back to work. To slow down the bursting cells in the lateral habenula. And to generally help your hippocampus and amygdala function better, so YOU can function better.

Sometimes it takes more than well-intended exercises. Sometimes it takes an intervention. And even though IV ketamine treatment doesn’t work for everyone, it can be transformative for the vast majority who have treatment resistant depression, PTSD, bipolar depression, social anxiety, substance use and alcohol use disorders, and suicidal thoughts. It can replace those miseries with resilience, motivation, confidence, initiative, and especially hope.

So Reach Out for Resilience and the Life You Long to Build

At Innovative Psychiatry, we have the privilege of seeing people who have achieved remission from these disorders every week. Remission means you have energy to support others, to build your own life and healthy strong relationships, and to face difficulties with strength. Remission means you once again feel like the very best self you’ve ever experienced. It means you stay resilient when life changes and can snap back in the face of difficulties.

And while we’re transitioning from active pandemic to a post-COVID world, we’re not there yet. And we want you to have the confidence that in our office you’re completely safe from infection caused by any virus, bacteria, or mold. Our plasma cell technology that continually scrubs the air you breathe to keep you safe from viruses, bacteria, and molds while you’re receiving treatment with us.

Reach out for resilience. If you struggle with the disorders we talked about, reach out for the hope of remission.

We want that for you and we can help.

To the restoration of your best self,

June 21, 2021
Every Body Deserves a Seat at the Table: Let’s Ensure They Have It

This is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week — NEDAwareness Week

People come in a wide variety, don’t they? No one more deserving than another. Whether there are differences in skin color, differences in gender, differences in sexual orientation, differences in religion…or differences in IDEAS. And no matter the differences, no matter the variety, every body deserves a seat at the table. We may speak of the table as a place to eat, or we may speak of the table as a place to exchange ideas. It happens that this week we’re talking about both. Because we want to think about how NEW ideas and NEW approaches can bring NEW FREEDOM to people with eating disorders.

An eating disorder causes you to see food and yourself in a distorted way. A way that affects you both physically and mentally. That distortion creates distorted eating patterns. And those eating patterns can cause damage to your body and your mind… as well as your life expectancy. And of all the eating disorders, anorexia nervosa is the most dangerous. With its poor response to treatment, such persistence, such rigidity. It takes over. It’s exhausting. We need more effective treatment for anorexia.

Eating disorders affect 32 million Americans. Twice as many women as men. Whether it’s bulimia, binge eating, anorexia nervosa, avoidant/restrictive eating disorder, or others, the need to raise awareness for support, education, and especially effective treatment, is paramount.

And although we hate bad news, there’s more bad news. The death rate in women with anorexia is 10 times greater than in other women. One major reason is that the metabolic and medical problems caused by self-starvation can be critical, even fatal. And also because the desperation triggered by anorexia can lead to suicide… and often does.

So let’s talk about what an eating disorder is…and what it isn’t.

In general, a variety of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors tangle together and lead to a disorder of this type.

The idea that eating disorders are a “girl’s disease” a disorder where a girl seeks her parents’ approval is false. Archaic. Fiction. Can you say Old Wives’ Tale?? Similar to some other diseases, there is a biological basis for anorexia — and genetic studies identifying the first 8 genetic loci! — that is exacerbated by sociocultural and psychological/psychiatric components.

And, by the way, let’s square off against the idea that eating disorders aren’t serious. They can, and often do, wreak havoc on you and the people who love you. They can interfere with your relationships, your livelihood, and your own sense of peace and self-respect. And they can tear down your health.

We need to up our game if we want to erase this hold they have on us, and erase the shame and stigma they carry. We need to up our game if we want to make headway in treating the most deadly of these disorders — anorexia nervosa.

Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness. (Or it did, until the opioid crisis recently claimed the lives of so many.) That mortality is caused by the medical consequences of binge eating, purging, starvation, over-exercising. And these consequences include heart attack, kidney failure, osteoporosis, electrolyte imbalance… and suicide.

Because of the stigma attached to eating disorders, early diagnosis can be hard to achieve. And early diagnosis is important for effective treatment. Because these disorders can begin at any age. And last for years

…and let’s get One Thing Straight Now:

Eating disorders are NOT a matter of choice. They’re diseases governed by physiology and biology, with genetic, social, cultural, and psychological factors. Help remove the stigma associated with eating disorders, to make the world a safer place for everyone… because every body deserves a seat at the table.

Stigma comes from ignorance. It’s the inclination to pour shame on anything not understood. And that shame can be crippling. It can force someone who suffers into hiding…isolation… when it’s light, enlightenment, and help that is so deeply needed.

When you’ve been isolated in the throes of shame, (and you know you haven’t done anything to deserve it!) it’s hard…really hard...to come out. Sometimes it’s hard just coming outdoors, for Pete’s sake! But sometimes, it’s coming out with truth about yourself. About your sexual orientation, about your habits, or about the way you think…or eat. It makes you feel vulnerable… and like you’re making yourself a target for hatred, stigma, and judgment.

Sometimes eating disorders live silently inside— and sometimes they can’t help but show themselves, and then the anguish, the anger, the frustration, and the way they take over your life becomes…unbearable. And stigma or not, you realize you just have to find help.

And especially, if you suffer from Anorexia Nervosa.

There is plenty of stigma about anorexia… and you may hear people toss the term around disrespectfully, because they don’t grasp the critical nature of the disease. If they suffered from it themselves, they would not speak hateful words in ignorance, because they, too, would be informed. But that’s the nature of the beast of stigma, isn’t it?

The death rate in women with anorexia is 10 times the death rate in those who don’t suffer from it. But every body deserves a seat at the table, a chance to live well… and not die from the critical medical conditions caused by self-starvation.

And again, remember that this self-starvation is not by choice, but is associated with genetic factors, and fueled by changes in the brain that happen in some women and men when they start to lose weight, get energized, and begin to exercise compulsively. And we recognize that there are a host of other factors that can contribute to a slow spiral, a continuous weight lose, the emergence of anxiety, fear, and rigid rules.

But sadly, the most distinctive and cruel of the symptoms of anorexia is the “anorexia voice.” A voice talking to you, controlling you, commanding you, every minute of every day, telling you what to eat, what not to eat, when to exercise, when to feel guilty, and on and on and on it goes.

Treatment is effective only when “the voice” can be silenced, and you are free to make choices you want to make. About food, about love, about activity… about hope.

So what can be done?

Sometimes if you have a new idea, it takes courage to offer it up — like Conflict Zone: A Play on Eating Disorder Recovery, a live-streamed one woman show with a compelling storyline about the lived experience of recovering from an eating disorder kicking off NEDAwareness Week — but it could be brilliant. It could deeply resonate. It could breed a whole new movement fueled by hope.

And while it may draw stigma and resistance from those who don’t understand the idea, those who need what the idea could provide grab onto that thread of hope.

We’ve had the opportunity to work with a few other researchers to write up and publish a case report that incorporated a specially designed modified ketogenic diet combined with ketamine infusions that resulted in complete remission of severe and enduring anorexia in a 29-year old woman who had been ill for 15 years. Striking. Striking that her remission is complete and sustained and has persisted now for over a year. (See our blog about Caroline).

The case report has taken off, generated a lot of interest (and a lot of controversy — as you might guess when we put a ketogenic diet and ketamine on the table). It’s nice to see the metrics climb, the interest rise, to see the hope bud in people with anorexia who’ve lost hope of ever beating it… and to see the sparks fly in the imagination of the scientists, doctors, therapists and dietitians who try to help them. Our case report was recommended by Drs. Miletta and Horvath in Faculty Opinions as a New Finding, Interesting Hypothesis and Technical Advance, and written up in a lovely Faculty Opinions blog.

So… we’re now following up with a small clinical trial involving more subjects which is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. Because we need an N greater than 1. We need to see if what worked will work for more people with chronic anorexia. This next step will give us more information about the effectiveness of our new sequenced approach in the treatment of anorexia.

As you can imagine, we’re cautiously excited to see what we can learn. And we’re hoping to see more and more studies to support novel treatments for anorexia.

At Innovative Psychiatry, we’re so pleased to see people with severe treatment resistant depression, bipolar depression, social anxiety, PTSD, and suicidal thoughts achieve remission with serial titrated ketamine infusions.

When you consider that the first paper published using ketamine for the treatment of a psychiatric disorder was using ketamine infusions for the treatment of anorexia — unbelievable but true!– more than 20 years ago, it’s WAY past time for people with anorexia to have truly effective treatment options to help them achieve remission. Every body deserves a seat at the table.

As our clinical trial launches, we remain right here, in the office, with boots on the ground, and continue to treat all of our patients for the symptoms that interfere with their lives.

If you suffer from depression symptoms, PTSD, social anxiety, or suicidal thinking, and medications haven’t helped, call us. You are welcome at our table.

We work to help you get the treatment that will help you with your symptoms and give you the freedom to live a rewarding life. In addition, we also work with our colleagues over the phone, email, and at conferences to learn all we can to better help you find remission. And, we pursue research opportunities to increase the medical knowledge available to all of us. For you.

Because every body deserves a seat at the table, including you!

We want to see you build a fulfilling life. That’s our heart in all we do.

So please call and let’s work together.

To the restoration of your best self,

February 22, 2021
You Can Call It Seasonal Affective Disorder or Any Other Name, It’s Still Depression

Across the country, extreme winter storms have descended upon us. Even in the Gulf states, short sleeve weather is suddenly shifting to snow. Temperatures are dropping from 70 degrees to 17 degrees.

And the gray skies that bring snow, also contribute to Seasonal Affective Disorder. Gray on the outside can turn some people gray on the inside. And typically, about 5% American adults suffer depression symptoms this time of year only. These sufferers feel fine the other seasons of the year. But something about gray skies, less light, and snow trigger sadness. Which is why they call it SAD. Call it seasonal affective disorder or SAD or any other name. It still feels like depression.

Symptoms include sadness, low energy, fatigue, weight gain or loss, and reduced interest in things they used to enjoy.

And specifically, symptoms begin in late fall…and subside in spring.

Sound familiar? If you’ve ever suffered from depression, you probably recognize these symptoms. Because this disorder that’s associated only with winter is a seasonal depression.

Some believe that the longer nights and shorter days interfere with your body’s internal clock. And that can result in changes in the brain. So using natural light and light boxes can help.

But this year… Katie Bar the Door!!

This year all bets are off. Due to the extra strain and anxiety caused by the COVID pandemic, plus the addition of flu season, the pandemic is causing anxiety and depression on its own. As the infection and death rate have grown, there is also SAD pulling people into darker places.

Social distancing reduces social interaction. Increased stress arises from financial difficulties, employment layoffs and remote learning. That cooped up feeling from being inside the house all day…as well as heightened alert about health… These stressors can cause brain cell changes that can lead to depression.

It goes without saying that so much time in the house because of COVID means less exposure to natural sunlight. You see where this is going.

SAD + COVID precautions + Flu season = Increased risk of depression and anxiety

We’re not making light of the bombarding risks facing you this winter that threaten your wellbeing. On the contrary, recognize that this season holds a unique storm of confusing symptoms. These symptoms can emerge in your health and your wellbeing.

The symptoms can be from depression you’ve had all year, or the result of COVID’s strain, or if it only happens this time of year it could be from SAD…. That’s why they call it seasonal affective disorder.

And being informed and familiar can help protect you from confusion and overwhelm if a tangle of symptoms should emerge in you or your family.

There are things you can do. For SAD, light therapy is helpful for lots of people.

Symptoms of SAD intersect with symptoms of major depressive disorder, and some of the symptoms can also be found in cases of flu and COVID, like fatigue.

So don’t be too unnerved if you find you have feelings of a deep dread, or increased agitation, or nervousness. If at all possible, this is not the time for controversial conversations about politics or religious differences. You may not realize the the underlying agitation or fear you feel may actually be stimulated by the pandemic and its restrictions, rather than the subject that seems so upsetting.

Families have been thrown into upheaval and even split apart by this dread and agitation that only began since the COVID crisis. Keep your relationships shielded and safe.

This is a great time for finding ways to reassure the people in your world, to find light-hearted discussions, and to maintain a sense of humor. This is a time for helping the people around you to maintain stability and get through this, rather than allowing controversy to up-end those already on shaky ground.

Find Healthy Ways to Bring Light Into Your Life

Seek out healthy and productive ways of occupying your thoughts, and avoid those counter to your wellbeing, such as alcohol and substance use. Do your best to find ways to brighten your family and friends with online games, painting projects, sewing and knitting (not just for the ladies now… you guys are missing creative fun if you don’t try it!), and all the ideas you can come up with that will get everyone talking and laughing in front of the computer screen!

If you’ve experienced SAD in prior years, this year may be more severe, so seek natural light as often as possible… You can call it seasonal affective disorder or just depression… either way, there’s hope.

And if you do have depression symptoms that don’t respond to medication, there’s hope. If the medication that has been effective for years has suddenly become ineffective over the past year, hang on. IV ketamine treatment just may make the difference you need.

Ketamine treatment is a series of individually titrated infusions within a couple weeks. Ketamine has a remarkable ability to tamp down feelings of hopeless and despair, while building up the connections between brain cells proliferate a dense communication network.

The result is a brightness of emotion, clearer thinking, restored energy for daily living, improved creativity, and the power to build healthy relationships. And…hope. It happens fast…and it can last.

Is it the same for everyone?

We have patients who may require a few more than the traditional six infusions, who recover so dramatically they haven’t needed more. That’s not to say those same patients might not eventually need another infusion eventually. They know to watch for the signs.

But sometimes people read articles and misunderstand about how ketamine treatment works. They think they have to keep getting infusions every couple months, or they read that ketamine treatment can’t really last.

Broad assumptions should be avoided when it comes to treatment in the brain. Results vary among different people, and as we often remind our readers, ketamine doesn’t work for everyone. But when it works, it can work dramatically well. And it can do a transformative work in most patients who are candidates for it.

Whether You Call It Seasonal Affective Disorder or Something Else, You Might Want to See what Ketamine Treatment Can Do for You

And when the clouds dump snow, make snow angels!

At Innovative Psychiatry, we’ve witnessed such extraordinary outcomes with repeated and titrated IV ketamine that we offer it to the community to help more people get better and live rewarding lives.

We also invite our ketamine patients to ask their healthcare team to collaborate with us as we deliver the infusions and they can follow up with any needed therapies.

Also, for the sake of safety, we have a protocol for patients who come to the office that involves special instructions, mask wearing, and special safety precautions.

To this end, we’ve installed technology that destroys viruses including the COVID and flu viruses, as well as bacteria and molds in the air and on surfaces. This means that when we open the door for your appointment, you can come inside for treatment with confidence, knowing you’re safe.

Don’t wait.

You may call it seasonal affective disorder…or SAD… or major depression or other affective disorders, but if they’re not helped by medication, call us.

This is a tough winter, and these intensive winter storms aren’t making it any easier. Reach out for resilience.

Your remission is what we live to help you achieve.

Life really can get better.

Reach out for hope.

To the restoration of your best self,

February 8, 2021
Resilience: Key to Your Wellbeing Through COVID 2021 and Beyond

Resilience is doing well when you shouldn’t be doing well.

— Dr. Sood, executive director of the Global Center for Resiliency and Well-being.

We’ve passed the 1-year mark of this pandemic, and it’s time to draw from our personal stores of personal strength to maintain our pace through the rest of the pandemic triumphantly. And the buzz word seems to be resilience. It’s the key to your wellbeing through COVID 2021 and beyond. Resilience means you bounce back from difficulty, recover, and more forward.

We don’t know yet if we’ll see this pandemic wind down in 4 months, 6 months, 9 months or a year. But for your own wellbeing and that of your family, your co-workers, our economy, and our community, we must develop the power to hold steady and see this challenge through.

The way we can do it is by developing and strengthening our resilience.

Since resilience is vital to our life and ability to survive emotionally, financially, in our healthy relationships, our mental and physical health, as well as our ability to handle trauma and loss… even our basic happiness… Well, we need to build it up, don’t we?

In fact, bolstering your resilience is probably the best thing you can do to prepare yourself for the challenges and changes you’ll face this year.

So How Can You Strengthen Resilience?

Each time you push past something that feels like a limit, you’re strengthening your resilience. Doing your sit-ups even though you’re not in the mood, getting up and dressing and leaving the house when you don’t feel like getting out of bed, choosing healthier foods like a salad when you’d rather have the smothered bacon fries…these are acts of resilience. They come from discipline and build resilience.

When you turn off the TV and get yourself out the door to volunteer to help others who need what you can give, your resilience grows.

It’s choosing self -control. It’s choosing to not give up. Things you do every day that build your inner reserves to call upon when the need arises.

While it’s true that some people are born with more resilience than others, it’s still good to invest in developing it. And even people who have a lot of natural resilience tend to keep cultivating it.

The challenge is to invest yourself to cultivate it when you never have before. Because by doing that, your ability to meet the challenges this year and next year will be far better than it was last year.

It’s worth the effort.

Motivation can power resilience. Getting up and doing those things you know you need to do can help you build the purpose so you can see the point of doing those things.

Practicing jazz on the saxophone for the hundredth time may feel like monotony, but it’s building skill on your instrument, as well as resilience.

How Do You Acquire Resilience?

We acquire resilience from the inside out and from the outside in. What does this mean?

Resilience comes from the rich stores inside you of self-love, self-worth, faith, hope, positivity, gratitude, courage, and conviction.

Resilience that comes from the outside in draws upon our support system, your community of people who care about you and for whom you care, your family, your friends, and your co-workers you feel connected to.

So it’s not hard to see how important it is that you choose that community carefully, guarding its impact on you, to help you build the inner strength and resilience you’ll need to draw from in difficult times. Because it’s the key to wellbeing through COVID 2021 and beyond.

Neuroplasticity Is a Wonder that Improves Resilience

As you know if you’ve been reading my posts awhile, neuroplasticity is the ability of brain cells to change or adapt. We’ve often talked about the neuroplasticity that ketamine treatment initiates.

That’s something a normal healthy brain does to help you adapt through life. But when you’re depressed, or affected by another disorder, that ability to change can become impaired.

On the other hand, when you build your resilience, neuroplasticity can function as it should.

The big obstacle is stress. We’ve talked about stress often, because it is so destructive to brain structures in the hippocampus, the prefrontal cortex, and the amygdala.

And one of the most important things you can do to bolster your resilience is to reduce the stress in your life. Because when you reduce stress, and let some time go by in a more “de-stressed” state, the brain cells in these structures can return to their normal working condition.

Then again, we also know that this stressed state can become severe enough that de-stressing isn’t enough to restore healthy function. Sometimes symptoms become so severe that suicidal thoughts begin to dominate your thoughts.

That’s when you need an intervention. Sometimes, lots of interventions. In some cases, medication can help. But since it only helps a small percentage of patients, you may need to seek out new help, other strategies, or other treatments.

When medications fail to bring you relief, and you’ve tried at least two different trials…you may want to find out if you’re a candidate for IV ketamine treatment.

That’s where we come in… because if you are a candidate, IV ketamine can be masterful at cranking up your neuroplasticity and your resilience.

And transformation can be soon to follow.

Resilience is the key to your wellbeing through COVID 2021 and beyond.

At Innovative Psychiatry, we meet people who are depressed, anxious, and sick of it all to determine if ketamine treatment might help. Many walk out at the end resilient, joyful, and full of hope.

Invest in resilience and build your inner joy to face what lies ahead. But if your efforts aren’t enough, and medications haven’t helped, call us.

If you’re a good candidate for serial titrated IV ketamine treatment, it will be our pleasure to help you through that process.

We also take your safety to heart in the midst of this pandemic and have invested in world class technology that removes COVID-19 causing virus from the air and surfaces in our offices. We use additional air sterilization processes that lay down microbarriers. And even with that presence, we still wear masks and ask that you wear them, too. We test ourselves and our staff with SARS-CoV2 PCR tests with a local DNA lab that gives us same day PCR results–incredible!–at least once a week. We also keep the door locked, to ensure that only those we’ve prescreened can enter. You can feel safe with us, and we know you need to feel safe so you can relax, receive treatment, and recover.

Don’t hesitate. Let’s find out if IV ketamine treatment can help you get your traction back. Your resilience. Your life.

We want to help.

To the restoration of your best self,

February 1, 2021
Discovery: A New Key to Ketamine’s Extraordinary Antidepressant Benefits

Ethan sat on his rock at the lake’s edge and stared across the water. He couldn’t help but wonder if it would ever be easier to get through a day. Not really easy, per se. But what about functional? To just have stuff to do and to get it done. Routine, like other people.

Ethan was so tired. Just didn’t feel the energy to do anything…and was deeply ashamed about it. He knew people thought he was just lazy. Maybe he was. He didn’t care about changing it, and felt so defeated. (There are so many people like this…who struggle, hopeless, and don’t know about ketamine’s extraordinary antidepressant benefits. Oh to get the word out!)

Would he ever be able to actually think? He’d felt like a goober for so long. Years. Really felt scrambled, it was so hard to read. But he could read fine when he was a kid. What the heck??

What was it like to feel loved? To love and feel loved? Why was he so empty…and why did love seem to be beyond his reach?

Why didn’t the antidepressants Ethan’s doctor had prescribed ever make a difference? Was medicine for this condition just worthless? Did it help anyone? Or was he just not doing his part somehow? It seemed hopeless. And he felt worthless. What was the point anyway?

Years of this empty futility had eroded Ethan’s endurance to keep trying. He could not for the life of him find a reason to live. Or a benefit to living.

Someone tell Ethan about ketamine’s extraordinary antidepressant benefits…. and hurry.

Is it Futile? Not With the Aid of Ketamine’s Extraordinary Antidepressant Benefits

Depression and bipolar depression. What can help you feel like living? It turns out that 30% or so of depressed patients just find no real help with traditional antidepressants like SRIs. These medicines just don’t help enough people.

When a second medicine is prescribed, if that doesn’t help either, well…we say that your case is treatment resistant. That doesn’t mean you’re treatment resistant, but that your depression medicine is failing to help you feel better and enjoy your life.

But the good news is that small doses of IV ketamine – that is, doses smaller than might be used in anesthesia – can be remarkably effective for lifting depression systems and restoring your joy, your creative energy, and your hope.

In fact, IV ketamine treatment can provide rapid and extraordinary relief of symptoms. And researchers have been trying to understand the WHY and the HOW of the underlying mechanism for years.

While there are some actions that have emerged to illuminate this process, more information is coming available. We’ve talked of the lateral habenula and the synapses in the brain many times.

New Research Unlocks a Ketamine Secret

Ketamine’s extraordinary antidepressant benefits are the talk of the decade. But ketamine’s secrets have only slowly been coming to light.

And just last month, research was published in Nature Research that shows that the ketamine and the ketamine metabolite hydroxynorketamine provide their antidepressant effects when mTORC1kinase is activated in the cell.

This research shows one of the things mTORC1 does is to turn on mRNA which initiates special binding proteins 4E-BP1 and 4E-BP2.

Actually, these binding proteins get lots of the credit for ketamine’s antidepressant benefits…as well as that hippocampal synaptic plasticity that promotes so much healing.

Remember that mRNA also turns on DNA to turbo boost brain-derived-neurotrophic-factor proliferating a dense growth of synapses.

It turns out that these same binding proteins are necessary for ketamine’s benefits in the lateral habenula as well. You may remember also how ketamine moves those G-proteins off the lipid rafts to get signals moving fast!

Ketamine is a powerful medicine. We don’t know why it isn’t effective for 100% of people who need it, or 100% of people who suffer from depression, bipolar depression, PTSD, and other conditions. We’re still researching and learning.

But we do know that IV ketamine treatment in the form of serial expertly titrated infusions is effective for more treatment resistant depressed people than any other medicine currently known.

And the odds are excellent that it will help you achieve remission.

Imagine having a heart full of joy and courage, along with the determination to build a fulfilling life, and the initiative to develop healthy rewarding relationships.

Just imagine.

Imagine really caring. About anything…about everything that matters.

Imagine hope.

Ketamine’s Secret Unlocks Joy and Hope

At Innovative Psychiatry, we cultivate hope… and joy… through expertise in titration, dose, and frequency of life-changing ketamine infusions. We have world class expertise in helping people get better.

We also have a safe environment in the presence of COVID-19 pandemic.

Talk about world-class. We have transformed our offices into a coronavirus killing machine. Units in each room that destroy and remove the virus…in fact all viruses….from the air, and a spectacular spray/fog that destroys all viruses – including COVID-19 – from all surfaces. 99.9999% is ALL.

You’re safe here. To be treated, restored, and empowered to live the life you want to work for. Your life. Your dream.

If you have labored and struggled under the burden of treatment resistant depression, bipolar depression, PTSD, substance use disorders, and suicidal thinking, call us.

And if you feel unsure, read the posts linked through this one. There is so much information, and hope.

We’re here to listen, and to help.

You’re the reason we do what we do. So call us.

To the restoration of your best self,

January 11, 2021
Burgeoning Hope for 2021 & Saying Goodbye to 2020

It’s been a year unlike any you’ve ever known.

You might think 2020 has been the worst year you’ve ever seen. You may have lost loved ones from COVID-19, or you may have lost your business. And I’m so very sorry for all your losses…. Maybe you lost your job, and your family has struggled for food and safety. But… 2020 for you may have also been a year of change, re-evaluation, and new beginnings for you and your family. It depends on your circumstances and your response to them, doesn’t it? And as you say goodbye to 2020, don’t forget to embrace a burgeoning hope for new promise in 2021.

In the world of psychiatric treatment, which is our own focus, we’ve seen lots of change. IV ketamine treatment is not the experimental, questionable treatment for depression and PTSD many people considered it to be in 2014. It has gained such confidence in the eyes of practicing physicians. And now they’re bundling it with other treatments and therapies. These developments ease more and more people into restoration, recovery, and hope.

Just the story of ketamine treatment’s progress should give us burgeoning hope for 2021. And more hope for the discoveries of the new year.

In short, ketamine treatment has grown up.

This second decade of the 21st century has opened up hope for so many who’ve suffered with untreated symptoms for as long as they can remember. Besides the presence of the pandemic, what else has emerged during 2020?

It hasn’t been all bad, has it?

In the quest to treat alcohol use disorder, Elias Dakwar, MD conducted a study to test the effective outcome of adding motivational enhancement therapy to IV ketamine treatment. Dakwar’s research using IV ketamine for alcohol and cocaine use disorders goes back to 2013. His work published in 2020 shows his depth and dedication to study and breakthroughs for those who suffer these disorders.

His team did their work related to cocaine use in 2019, and the one regarding alcohol use in 2020.

Their results demonstrated that when ketamine treatment is combined with motivational enhancement therapy, abstinence is improved.

We can’t wait to see what Dakwar and other front leading researchers will uncover in their work in the new year. More burgeoning hope for 2021.

And as we reach toward 2021, let’s remember the naysayers ten years ago who scoffed about ketamine treatment, sensationalized it, laughed at the very idea of it. Let’s remember that new treatments are typically rejected by the mainstream and it requires innovative thinkers to help those treatments move forward. Real innovations are almost always surrounded by naysayers. For awhile.

Anorexia nervosa has been the subject of research and longstanding debates about causative factors and effective treatment approaches. It is the most lethal psychiatric disorder. And although new research is presented each year at national medical conferences, reliable treatment that leads to long-term recovery has remained elusive. Our own experience with a case study this year using a new approach to treatment was promising, and we’re eager to see more innovative research in anorexia to furthering this hope.

We’ve also learned that the stress of a pandemic can lead to an increase in severe depression, PTSD, substance use disorders, and suicidal thinking.

That quarantining for individuals who already suffer these symptoms can exacerbate and exaggerate them. That people who had felt that their medications managed their symptoms before the pandemic found that sometimes that was no longer true when isolation was added to the mix… Not to mention social distancing, closed restaurants and businesses and online learning away from schools.

Plus, a global pandemic can put everyone under stress, and we have a choice to decide how we treat those we meet. With kindness, patience, and understanding, or with agitation, criticism, and the belief that others should pay for our own frustration.

We learned that social distancing, hand washing, masks and gloves seemed to create their own stress. And even people who enjoyed being alone, who enjoyed solace, often found this level of isolation stressful.

A Vaccine is Emerging — More burgeoning hope for 2021

The big story in the news has been the development of a vaccine for COVID-19, which has possibly caused other forms of research to take a back seat temporarily. But this has been a global priority and thankfully vaccines are emerging.

Meanwhile, we’ve been digging deep to find safe “work arounds” for you. We want to make it possible for our patients to receive the treatment you need during this crisis. And that has involved changes we’ve made at Innovative Psychiatry.

Here’s another 21st century development. This one by NASA and MIT. And it destroys viruses like COVID-19, bacteria, and mold from the air and surfaces and removes them from the environment. We reached out to have this technology installed in our offices. Based on plasma cell technology that destroys the pathogen and leaves the air and surfaces in the office space pure, clean, and safe. Why? Because it’s pathogen free.

Developed as a prepared response for biological warfare, this technology is exactly what is needed in a pandemic.

And it can empower you to reach out to us for treatment no matter what is happening with the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, so you can receive ketamine treatment in the safest possible place.

And remember, this solution doesn’t just remove the COVID virus from the room, it destroys all airborne viruses. The flu, too. And bacteria like staph, and pneumococci … and whatever else might make its way into microdroplets.

It’s been a tough year dominated by the pandemic, but we have the technology to fight that pandemic in a new fresh, effective way. Burgeoning hope for 2021 says the more ways we can destroy COVID-19, the better.

In a few days 2020 will end. And 2021 will begin.

Once again, we have a choice. We’ll have to continue to weather the growing numbers of cases, and the overflowing hospitals… for awhile.

For each of us, our mental and emotional wellbeing is best served by the kindness and generosity we show those around us.

At Innovative Psychiatry we’re in full swing. Eager to help you receive the treatment you need for anxiety, depression and bipolar depression, PTSD, alcohol use disorder, substance use disorder…and especially suicidal thinking.

We plan to beat this pandemic. To get to the other side of it. And to help you get to the other side of it.

So you can feel safe to come in with confidence and receive the ketamine treatment that will help you get better. Help you cope with life as it is now, and as it unfolds. To build your resilience, and to aim for remission.

We’re here for you to help you live 2021 with a new fresh outlook that makes it so much easier to face challenges with confidence, and the creativity to devise useful solutions.

We’re not saying that ketamine can do these wonderful things for everyone, since there is no medicine or treatment that works equally well 100% of the time in EVERY SINGLE PERSON. Let’s be clear.

But we continue to be stunned at how thorough and transformative ketamine treatment is for most.

We look forward to 2021 and to seeing you blossom with hope in the days and weeks ahead. May Your Days Be Bright…

If you suffer from symptoms that no other treatment has helped, call us.

We’re here and available to make appointments for you within a few days to help you enjoy a rewarding and fulfilling life of joy, creativity, and meaningful healthy relationships.

To the restoration of your best self,

December 28, 2020
Fantasize This: A Stress-Free Family Holiday Month… Crazy? Maybe Not.

December is National Stress-Free Family Holiday Month. Don’t Laugh. It really is…

OK, yes, I get it. It’s the holidays. In a pandemic. COVID-19 spread is skyrocketing. Finances are a struggle and it’s the holidays. Depression can peak this time of year. Everybody needs something and to go somewhere. And don’t forget Personal Protective Equipment. Did I mention it’s the holidays? Stress-free family holiday month? You gotta be kidding me.

We’ve talked about stress before, and the pathology that contributes to it. And how stress contributes to the wearing down of brain structures like synapses that can cause more serious disorders. Like depression, bipolar depression, PTSD, social anxiety, to name a few.

When do you need to be stress-free more than now??

Add to the holidays the risk of seasonal affective disorder, which for some people creates the symptoms of debilitating depression as the days become shorter, the skies are gray more often, and less light gets through.

When you feel bad, your stress increases. And when your stress increases, you feel crummy.

So how on earth do you make December a stress-free family holiday month? Especially now?

One approach might be to consider that even though the pandemic may create stress, the pandemic can also give us the freedom to reduce our own stress.

Case in point:

You can shop less. Agree with your family and friends that giving no gifts or else giving small token gifts is easier to manage this year. You can reduce your shopping and wrapping by say…80%? And use the time that’s left to do things you enjoy at home. And avoid exposure to others.

Perhaps spend more quiet and quality time with your spouse and family. Playing cards and board games, or just talking and laughing together.

You can bake together if you enjoy it.

But you can definitely reduce the stress that goes with hustle and bustle. You can make reasonable decisions to just pass up the hassles this year and give gifts next year.

Stressors Abound But Stress Doesn’t Have To

While it’s true that US COVID-19 cases in the month of November — 4 million — actually doubled the number of cases in October, your risk of infection is pretty low if you stay quarantined and isolated a while longer.

Daily deaths from COVID-19 in the US are back up to the numbers back in April. On April 15, 2752 people died in a single day, the largest number of the pandemic…until this past Wednesday, when 2300 people died.

COVID-19 is a serious risk, but that’s why you need to make good decisions that protect yourself.

The more you stay inside, washing your hands, wearing a mask if anyone comes in, and finding ways to ENJOY yourself, the less risk you face of the COVID-19 virus spreading to you.

And if you don’t feel afraid, the stress ratchets down.

If you don’t feel overwhelmed with more to do than you can every complete…well the stress ratchets down more.

If you don’t have to prepare to host a houseful of company for 10 days…you got it: the stress ratchets down even more.

Because one of the things that cause stress is fear. Another thing that causes it is exhaustion — mental and physical exhaustion.

And illness causes it, too.

Winter 2020 presents us with new options.

We can continue riding the treadmill in the midst of the storm…or we can just take a breath, and decide to make changes that help us — and our loved ones — enjoy improvements in life and relationships. And less risk of contracting the most contagious and potentially threatening virus we’ve seen in 100 years.

It won’t always be like this, will it? This is temporary. It may last a year or two. But it is NOT permanent.

So let’s take care of ourselves and each other.

In doing that, we can make this a stress-free family holiday month.

Another thought:

Think back over the last 5-10 years before we’d ever heard of COVID-19. During the hustle, bustle, and intense stress of December, can you remember thinking that somewhere along the way we’ve lost sight of what all this is about? That society — you and me — has gotten so caught up in the obligations at this time of year that we’ve forgotten how to enjoy ourselves and each other. To seize moments?

Holiday parties every weekend, office party, parties for the kids, shopping for a list of people a mile long, wrapping gifts, preparing meals and baking cookies for cookie exchanges, cleaning the house to prepare for company…and the list goes on.

That feeling of “stop the world…I wanna get off…” Sound at all familiar? Consider that this is your year for a reboot. Set new expectations, reduce expenses, invest less of yourself in “impressing” and more in “supporting” and “loving”…

Meanwhile, if you suffer from severe symptoms of depression, bipolar depression, alcohol use disorder, substance use disorder, PTSD, social anxiety…maybe even anorexia…. then the stressors of the Winter 2020 season can only aggravate the symptoms.

Some people whose symptoms were managed by oral antidepressants before COVID-19 and all the circumstances of this season, find the oral medications are no longer effective. In spite of medication adjustments and dosage changes.

And some of these people are finding they want to reach out for ketamine treatment because nothing else is working anymore.

If that sounds like you, just know you aren’t alone and that ketamine infusions may just make the difference. It has for so many others who have reached the point you have.

Yes, there is still some people who are not helped by ketamine and we don’t understand why. But research continues to clarify the dose, response, and safety of ketamine treatment.

At Innovative Psychiatry, we, too, are re-evaluating to find less stressful and safer means of helping you get better. We’re so gratified when we see patients who’ve suffered for years from treatment-resistant symptoms walk out of our offices with joy, relief, and hope following a series of ketamine infusions.

It’s enough that there are as many stressors as there are these days, but our hope for you is a stress-free family holiday month in December 2020. This is a unique holiday season like we’ve never seen before…and one we’re unlikely to see again in our lifetime.

And if you need ketamine treatment to achieve “stresslessness” at home… please do call us.

It’s possible to make some strategic executive decisions to reduce the stress as well as exposure to others for yourself and your family…while using this time to rediscover meaningful experiences within your household.

And by reducing stress in your home, life, and family…and receiving treatment for the misery of unmanaged symptoms, you and your family can enjoy a special and memorable December 2020 holiday month.

We’re here and ready when you are, and wishing a happy holiday month for you.

To the restoration of your best self,

November 30, 2020

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