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Ketamine And Treatment-Resistant Depression

Ketamine And Treatment-Resistant Depression
April 04, 2024

Have you ever felt sad and felt like it is not worth living anymore? If the answer is yes, then you have faced depression at some point in your life. Depression is not mere sadness; for instance, if you feel sad and low for a while, which we all feel due to some reason or the other, it is just a phase of sadness, and that phase will soon pass away. But depression is much deeper than that. It is a mental health issue that many must suffer from when they cannot identify the signs of this clinical condition and continue to suffer from the disorder for a long time.

In the present day, many people, belonging to all age groups- be it teens, young adults, adults, and aged people, experience some or the other forms of mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, conditions of panic attacks, high levels of stress, and so on. In fact, it has been found from several extensive studies and in-depth research works that the number of occurrences of mental health issues among people is gradually increasing day by day and it is high time that we start acknowledging and treating the problems that we are facing today that are related to mental health.

It is crucial to treat these mental health issues because if they are not treated at once, they will not only lead to problems in your physical health but will also mess up your regular routine. Now, a time comes when a person develops depression, which has now become so deep because of long-term neglect and ignoring its healing process for a long period of time, that even treatment does not work, and as a result, the depression becomes treatment resistant. This article is all about treatment-resistant depression, what it is all about, the signs of such a mental health condition, its treatment procedures, and how ketamine, a biochemical component helps in treating treatment-resistant depression. So, here is a trigger alert for you; if you feel any type of discomfort after reading the article, you can always take a break and then return, or if circumstances prove to be truly overwhelming, then taking professional help is highly recommended.

The human mind and the physical body are highly interconnected to each other. One needs to be in a good state for the other one to function properly. If the mental health is not in a proper state, then it is highly likely that the person might not be having physical wellness also.

Treatment-Resistant Depression

There are many people today who might have been going to therapists or mental health professionals to get their mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, and so on, treated with psychological counseling sessions, different forms of therapies, and medications as prescribed by the mental health professional. But there can be even worse cases when this apparent treatment might not be found working to heal your depression. This is the case of treatment-resistant depression. It is when you find that your treatment for depression is not working, or the counseling is not effective enough to take you out of the low feeling that is making you think that it is not worth living. It is true that treating depression and related clinical conditions is not at all easy and can require quite a long time and a couple of sessions for counseling and therapy, while in some cases the depression might be resistant to treatment. So, for that matter, it is important to understand the difference between the two.

As it has often been opined by many mental health professionals that treatment-resistant depression is a condition when two different classes of antidepressant medications do not prove to be effective to treat depression. On the other hand, another group of mental health professionals claims that when four different types of treatment options do not help to treat depression, then it can be considered that the patient is likely to be suffering from treatment-resistant depression. Treatment-resistant depression or TRD, also known as refractory depression, is quite a common occurrence when is a condition when in the beginning you have a feeling that your issues are truly getting solved and the mental health problems are getting healing gradually with time, but the truth is, the depression has become so severe that it has become resistant to treatment and as a result, the treatment that you are receiving from your mental health experts or from your psychologists, is not working at all. In fact, it is a matter of true controversy whether a phase of clinical depression at a certain stage is treatable or not. At times, there might be cases when the treatment that you are receiving from counseling and therapy sessions might not be working for you at all and you might continue to feel the same dark thoughts related to depression. Though there are certain ways to deal with conditions like treatment-resistant depression, mostly with the help of antidepressants, before that, it is important to find out whether a person has treatment-resistant depression or not, which will be evident if you consider the signs and symptoms that are related to the occurrence of this mental health disorder.

Signs And Symptoms Related To Treatment-resistant Depression:

It is true that the signs and symptoms related to treatment-resistant depression will differ from one person to the other. Yet, there are some common signs that will help you to identify if your depression is truly resistant to clinical treatments. Some of the major and most common symptoms of treatment-resistant depression can be listed here as follows:

  • When you have already taken a number of therapy sessions and still do not feel better about your depression
  • When you are having side effects the medicines for depression that you are having, and it is increasingly and gradually becoming difficult to deal with the illness
  • You are feeling good momentarily, but then you are having the same dark thoughts repeatedly

Apart from the above three conditions, there can be other feelings as well, that one can feel if you are having treatment-resistant depression. Some of them are:

  • High levels of stress and anxiety disorder
  • Longer episodes of depression
  • Temporary relief and the long depression that follows it

If you think that you are having all or any of the above symptoms, then it is highly likely that you are having treatment-resistant depression. In that case, it is highly recommended, that you should consult your therapist or concerned mental health professional as soon as you can.

But there is no need for you to worry because there are medications and some classes of antidepressants that are often found to be effective to treat even those kinds of mental health issues that are often resistant to treatment. One such type of medication is ketamine. So, it is important for you to know about ketamine in detail.

What Do You Need To Know About Ketamine?

Ketamine is a type of medicine mostly used as an anesthetic used to induce loss of consciousness, often used to ease, or reduce pain and related sensations. Many acclaimed organizations such as the food and medicine-related authority boards have prescribed ketamine as a useful component of a non-narcotic product, which is often used to treat extreme conditions of depression. It is also said that ketamine consists of hallucinogenic properties, so it is strictly said that one should use this class of drug only with suggestions from a medical practitioner.

Can Ketamines Treat Treatment-resistant Depression?

Now, this must be the most important question that is occurring in your mind. As far as ketamine is concerned, it is a dissociative anesthetic drug that is mostly used for general anesthesia. Apart from that, many medical practitioners and mental health professionals are now suggesting that ketamine drugs do help in treating treatment-resistant depression. There are certain receptors in the human brain that help generate a biochemical substance known as glutamate. Ketamine drugs help to bind such receptors and therefore help treat depression. Apart from this, ketamine drugs also help to treat other conditions, such as:

  • High levels of stress and stress disorders
  • Bipolar disorder
  • Excessive anxiety and conditions of anxiety attacks
  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder)
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

Side Effects Of Ketamines:

There are some side effects of using ketamine drugs too, such as:

  • It can cause intoxication and allergic reactions
  • Ketamine drugs might not be helpful for people having disorders like schizophrenia or psychosis
  • Ketamine drugs can lead to euphoria among people who have already a history of substance use issue
  • Can increase the risk of dementia among aged people
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