Ketamine Therapy for Adolescent and Young Adult Mental Health Disorders
Coronavirus disease 2019, also known as COVID-19, has affected over 8.7 million Americans and caused over 225,000 deaths as of October 26, 2020.[1] Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading US infectious disease expert and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infection Diseases, declared this morning that we are still in the first wave of coronavirus.[2]
We have some major uncertainty coming up in the next few weeks and months. We still do not have a vaccine, and a Johnson and Johnson as well as Astra Zeneca vaccine trials were stopped recently. One model predicts 400,000 deaths this winter.[3] Flu season is also upon us, and we are encouraging patients to get the vaccine. Furthermore, there is an election in 8 days and people are very anxious about this, including the result and subsequent chaos that may ensue.
We see patients of all ages, but an area of interest is adolescent and young adult mental health andketamine therapy. Our high school patients are under a tremendous amount of stress and anxiety, as many have college admission testing, interviews, jobs, and the social isolation from being at home and interacting with classmates and friends. They are also missing major events in high school such as prom and homecoming, as well as sports. Mental health providers are doing meetings over Zoom, but our patients have expressed dis-satisfaction with this system and feel like they are not getting better. The pandemic has also been shown to increase suicidal behaviors.[4]
Ketamine therapyhas been shown to be effective for a host of mental health disorders including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress (PTSD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder. It has also been shown to be effective for a variety of chronic pain issues including fibromyalgia and headaches.[5] While ketamine is not a permanent cure, we do use it to help improve mental and physical functionality, and equally as important, maintain it for the long run.
In the meantime, there are a number of things we can do by ourselves to optimize our mental health.
- Meditation– Applications like Calm and Headspace walk you through on how to meditate and breathe.
- Eating healthy– proteins and healthy fats and minimize processed foods and carbohydrates.
- Exercise– HIIT and cardio, while mixing in yoga to give the body a break.
- Sleepingat least 7 hours a night.
- Eliminatingdrug use and drinking in moderation.
- Minimizingthe chance of getting sick- wear a mask, wash hands, social distancing
"We see patients in the following locations: Skokie, Illinois, Chicago, Illinois, Miami Beach, Florida, Miami Florida, Frisco, Texas, Dallas, Texas, and surrounding areas of Illinois, Florida, and Texas. Call us to book your appointment today."
At StrIVeMD Wellness and Ketamine, we offer intravenous ketamine infusions to help with depression, anxiety, and a variety of treatment resistant disorders. With a team comprised of physicians board-certified in adult and pediatric anesthesiology, neurology, pediatrics, pain medicine, and functional medicine, we are the most comprehensive team from the nation’s best medical institutions to take care of patients of any age including adolescents. We work with your mental health provider to ensure safety and effectiveness of our program. If you or someone has a mental health disease that is worsening, or fighting a chronic medical condition, please call your healthcare provider or go to the emergency room. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to email us atinfo@strivemdwellness.com
Take care and stay safe.
References:
- [1]https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html
- [2]https://observer.com/2020/10/anthony-fauci-spike-covid-cases-first-wave-bad-news/
- [3]https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-10-07-20-intl/h_8a1994962c6789e4ebc16bfe1f2aa99a
- [4]https://www.paho.org/en/news/10-9-2020-covid-19-pandemic-exacerbates-suicide-risk-factors
- [5]https://strivemdketamine.com/ketamine-infusions/