Fun Facts About Ketamine

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to Ketamine Connections. I'm your host, Ana Kristal, a. k. a. your Ketamine Coach, and today I am recording in a rental car on the coast of Italy, where I have been on a work retreat putting together something that I will be so excited to share with you in the coming weeks.

The best way to stay updated, if you're curious about that, is to subscribe to the podcast. I will be sharing it here. first for sure. And yeah, the recording in the rental car is me hoping that this tight space makes for a good sound recording. One thing that I cannot stand personally is poor sound quality in a podcast.

So I'm really doing my best here with my little travel mic and wanting to get this information out. into the world because I'm so excited about today's topic mostly because I am a trivia junkie. I love quick fun facts and that is exactly what I want to bring to you today about ketamine. So if you're looking for some more serious information and you landed on this episode for whatever reason, I want to first guide you towards some other episodes that have better resources for you depending on what you are looking for.

If you are curious about the different ways to take ketamine, go ahead and after this episode, head over to episode number five. That is where I go through all the ways that you can legally take ketamine and break down acronyms like IV and IM so that you know exactly what you're getting into when you are embarking on your ketamine journey.

If you are looking for resources on how to prepare for ketamine, go ahead and head over to episode number six. When you're done here, that is where I go through all the ways that you can prepare for the transformational journey experience that ketamine can bring. I go into a good amount of detail on how to prepare for it.

Prepare yourself physically and emotionally and that is a topic that is unfortunately not widely spoken about that I know is crucial when embarking on a ketamine transformational journey.

If you are worried about having a bad trip, go ahead and head over to episode number four. When you are done here, it's common it's super common for people to be concerned about a trip gone wrong or ketamine bringing up bad memories, which is the title of the episode. That is the episode to listen to if that is you and also if it's not you, because there's a lot of good information in this episode number four, about the energetics of the ketamine trip itself.

And that is the episode where I also give out a free guide to download in the show notes. And that guide has my top three techniques that I teach to all of my clients going into ketamine. Yeah, the top three techniques that I teach to navigate a bad trip. So those are the episodes that get into answering questions for people.

Like you, maybe someone you know, maybe who is considering sitting with ketamine and using ketamine to transform your life. We have about, in the U. S. we have about 500 to 700 ketamine clinics in the country plus a whole load, a wide load of at home ketamine options. And there's also the Naval Center.

nasal spray for Vado and ketamine is gaining a lot of popularity as this alternative for people experiencing mental health issues, which by the way, just to jump into some quick facts, because I love numbers. That number of people with mental health issues in the U S is about 50 million Americans, which is about 20 percent of the population.

That number that I'm quoting comes from an op. organization called Mental Health America. And that figure is from 2022. So pretty recently, I already spoke about mental health statistics being on the rise in episode number two, where I introduced the podcast. So you're also welcome to revisit that episode for more about numbers.

I love numbers. Like I said, Trivia numbers. Love it.

Okay. So as we have more and more psychiatrists referring clients to ketamine, we also have more and more clinics that are increasing people's access to ketamine and there are very few professionals and providers in the ketamine space preparing clients for their journeys as it relates to, treatment.

People coming to ketamine to transform their mental health issues. And as a hypnotherapist, what I always say is that if you want ketamine to transform your life, you want ketamine to transform your subconscious mind. That is the impetus for this entire podcast, for this entire project, because I'm really eager to get this information out into the world and really prepare people for the line in the sand that ketamine has the potential to be.

And nonetheless, without the right preparation, it really mitigates that potential. So if you know someone embarking on ketamine or considering it or already in their ketamine journey, it would be incredibly helpful for you to share this podcast with them. That way they can get this information that they need to take ketamine from just another thing you.

That you try to align in the sand from who you were and who you are becoming.

All right, so much gratitude for you and your participation in sharing this podcast. And with that, let's dive into today's episode. So today we are going to have a little bit of fun diving into some surprising facts. They surprised me about this powerful medicine, ketamine can be and it is pretty serious.

It is an incredible tool for healing, but let's have fun. What's the point of healing if we're not having fun, right? Let's have a little fun while we're learning some fun, surprising facts about ketamine today. Three fun facts about ketamine that might surprise you is the episode for today.

And if you stick around to the end, I've got a bonus video. Bonus fact that almost, that always makes people go wait, what? For real? Stick around to the end, trust me, that fourth bonus fact is one of my favorites. Alright, let's get into it. Fun fact number one, ketamine was originally used as a battlefield anesthetic.

ketamine started its journey on the battlefield? Back in the 1960s and 70s, it was widely used as an anesthetic during the Vietnam War. It was a huge game changer because it could put soldiers under fast while not causing any issues with breathing, which is often a risk with other anesthetics. It literally saved lives out on the battlefield.

How did it go from battlefield medicine to mental health therapy? That also relates to the battlefield. Doctors started noticing that People who received ketamine during surgeries had unexpected emotional benefits. They were not just recovering from the physical pain of the surgery. They were also feeling better mentally and emotionally too.

And that is when researchers realized this was not just about blocking the physical pain, that it was doing something Wild to the brain specifically across especially, sorry, especially associated with areas connected to mood and depression. So I think that's pretty wild that something that started as a quick fix on the battlefield has turned into a key player in current modern day mental health.

And this is also how we get into different uses of ketamine. Ketamine is still officially used as an anesthetic, but using it off label, as they say in the Western medical world, is how ketamine became the first federally legal psychedelic in the U.

Which is a great segue to fun fact number two, and that ketamine is that, ketamine is the only legal, federally legal psychedelic in the U. S. So if you're curious about psychedelics, they're really popular right now, I know and Ketamine is the only, currently at the time of this recording, currently the only psychedelic that is fully legal and accessible for mental health treatment in the U.

S., again, on a federal level. A lot of people are talking about other psychedelics in this psychedelic renaissance that we are experiencing. People are talking about psilocybin, which is magic mushrooms. funky mushrooms, whatever you want to call them MDMA, MDA, ayahuasca, these are all substances that are showing amazing promise but right now they're still in the research phase and in clinical trials in the U.

S. and at the time of this recording in late summer 2024 it feels like other psychedelics being federally legal is yeah, it's feeling the furthest away. So if you're looking for a safe legal option to explore the benefits of psychedelic Ketamine is the one you can do without any legal gray area And let's face it when you are Already on a healing path.

Do you really want to deal with legal headaches, potential drama? Probably not. Ketamine clinics are popping up all over the country. You don't need to go on some epic quest, maybe to a different country, maybe to a dark cave. You are able to use it as a regular, in a regulated place to start your healing journey.

Casually. Ketamine brings the power of psychedelics into your backyard, and I think that's really cool. So if you want to hear about the benefits of working with a legal psychedelic, then go ahead and hit subscribe to the podcast because I've already recorded an episode that is going to release in the coming weeks that is all about the benefits of working with ketamine as a legal psychedelic as opposed to other psychedelics that because they are not legal in the U.

S. Some potential drama. Okay. Fun fact number three. I love this fact. And that is that ketamine is considered a basic human right by the U. N. How cool. This one might surprise you. I know it surprised me that ketamine is actually on the World Health Organization's list of essential medicine and the United Nations guidelines.

considers it a basic human right. That means that all countries all over the world, regardless of where they are or where they are in ranking, are required to ensure that they have access to ketamine. And it's largely because of its importance as an anesthetic. There there's something even more incredible in that groups it into this category.

And that is that ketamine is so safe that it is used in pediatric care, which is pretty incredible. Doctors often rely on it when they are performing surgeries or procedures on Children because it doesn't suppress the breathing, right? As I said, in fun fact, number one, the way that other anesthetics might do.

And so this safety profile is one of the reasons that ketamine has been used. Especially in places where access to advanced medical supplies might be limited in these situations, ketamine becomes a really huge life saving solution and not just for adults, right? But for the people for children as well.

So even though on this podcast, what we're talking about is using ketamine for mental health. The fact that it's global impact goes way beyond that in is a lifesaver, both physically and mentally, whether you are in a high tech hospital or an under resourced clinic, ketamine is really proving itself to be indispensable.

Indispensable. Here we go. And I think that's really amazing to think that something that we use in the U. S. in our modern lifestyle to treat depression and anxiety and PTSD is also seen as a critical medicine world. Alright, you stuck around to the end. Let's talk about my bonus fact number four. And why is ketamine called a horse tranquilizer?

I'm not sure if you've ever heard that. You know that Special K ketamine, whatever you want to call it, is a horse tranquilizer. This is the bonus fact that I love that makes a lot of people go, What? The one you've been waiting for. Maybe you fast forwarded to this part of the episode. Ketamine is sometimes called a horse tranquilizer, and while that might sound a little bit wild, it's not totally off the mark.

Here's the deal. Ketamine is actually used for humans and animals, and this is also a matter of, whether it's used as a psychedelic or as a therapy. an anesthetic and that has to do with dosage. So whether you're working with a person or a horse, it's the same exact substance. However, back in the day when ketamine started to gain popularity as a party drug it was a lot easier to get, your hands on it through a Veteran veterinary.

And there we go. Then through a doctor. That's we're using it in larger doses to sedate large animals like horses. And so the nickname stuck. So yeah, the doses for mental health treatment are way lower than for anesthetics and definitely way lower than a horse. But I love that fun fact. So it's a little piece of history that is part of how ketamine got its little wacky reputation.

So today, of course, we know that ketamine is highly regulated and controlled it's miles from the party drug, even though it is still active in the party community but intention goes a long way, right? That is a part of preparation is the intention that you're using any psychedelic with, especially ketamine.

And that is the difference between taking drugs and partying and using it for mental health transformation. All right there you have it. Three fun facts plus a bonus about ketamine from its origins on the battlefield, to its legal status, to its global status. Ketamine is truly one of the most unique and powerful tools we have for mental health healing

And I hope that this helped you get a little more detail, a little more trivia into the conversation. If you enjoyed today's episode, which I hope you did, make sure to share it with someone who could use a little ketamine in an education who is considering ketamine or already started with ketamine that might be curious about how it works.

And if you've got questions or topics you want to dive into, there is a form in the show notes. That you can submit questions and feedback. I am evolving with this podcast. So I would love feedback to help learn and grow and I appreciate you. So until next time, stay curious