The Epidemic of Depression and Anxiety, and How Ketamine Can Help

Depression and anxiety are among the most common mental illnesses in the United States. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, approximately 19% of adults in the US are affected by mental illnesses, including depression and anxiety. Headlines often focus on the dramatic cases of mental illness, but mental health issues affect millions of people across the US. Here, we will take a look at some of the statistics on depression and anxiety in the US. Depression is the leading cause of disability in the US for people between the ages of 15 and 44. This mental illness affects more than 16.1 million adults in the US each year. Of those affected by depression, 7.6 million of them are women, while men make up 8.5 million of those affected. Anxiety is the most common mental health disorder in the United States, affecting 40 million adults 18 and older, or 18% of the population. 25.1 % of those affected by anxiety are female, while 14.3% are male. The rates of anxiety tend to be highest among people between the ages of 18 and 34, with 32.3 % of the age group suffering from an anxiety disorder. Though depression and anxiety affect so many people in the US, only 4-5% (43.6million) of those people actually receive treatment for their mental health disorder. That means that 19 out of 20 people suffering from a mental disorder go untreated. Mental health treatments and preventative care, including therapy and medications, can be life-changing for those affected by depression and anxiety. However, access to these resources can be difficult to find. Unfortunately, the high cost of treatment and insurance coverage can make it hard for people to seek out the help that they need. These statistics demonstrate that depression and anxiety are serious mental illnesses that affect millions of people in the US each year. While many people are affected, the availability of resources and support to get the treatment that they need is not always met. It is important that efforts are made to make mental health resources more accessible to those suffering from mental illness.

Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic that has been used in medical settings for decades. Recently, it has become a promising treatment for depression and anxiety due to its ability to provide fast relief from the symptoms of these common mental illnesses. Ketamine works on a molecular level to alters neuronal signaling in the brain, which can reduce the symptoms of depression and anxiety. It acts on areas of the brain linked to depression, like the prefrontal cortex, where it helps to boost glutamate, a neurotransmitter that helps regulate moods and behavior. This helps to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety and has been seen to work in just a few hours, which is significantly faster than the weeks or months it can take for traditional antidepressant medications to take effect. Ketamine has also been seen to produce a “reset” effect in the brain, where it may reset neurochemical pathways, synaptic connections, and other neural structures related to mood regulation. This reset effect is thought to be responsible for its quick and effective action in addressing symptoms of depression and anxiety. When used as a treatment for depression and anxiety, ketamine is administered by a healthcare professional, ideally an anesthesiologist, in a clinical setting. This ensures that the medication is given at the correct dose, and that the patient is monitored while they are receiving it. Ketamine treatment is a short-term solution and is usually not prescribed as a long-term treatment. Ketamine may be the most effective option for those whose depression and anxiety aren’t responding to other treatment options. However, it is important to remember that ketamine is a powerful medication and that it should only be used under careful medical supervision.

At StrIVeMD Wellness and Ketamine in Chicago, Frisco/Dallas, and Miami Beach, we offer intravenous (IV) ketamine infusions to help with depression, anxiety, and a variety of treatment resistant disorders. We also focus on vitamin and hydration therapy to help with immunity and wellness that have been compromised from poor mental health. With a team comprised of physicians board-certified in adult and pediatric anesthesiology, pain medicine, and functional medicine, as well as Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA), we are the most comprehensive team from the nation’s best medical institutions to take care of patients of any age including adolescents and geriatric patients. 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 at info@strivemdwellness.com.