How to Prepare for Ketamine

Hey, everyone, welcome back to the podcast. I'm so excited you're here. And before we dive into today's episode, I want to take a time out and say a special thank you to everyone leaving a review and reaching out. Your reviews and questions and highlights are making this process feel a lot more interactive and that makes it so much more fun for me and probably fun for you too to listen to.

Okay, so in case you don't already know, There is a form in the show notes to submit questions.

You can also use this form to provide feedback and shoot me a note about anything that stood out to you as being interesting or helpful, or even something that you would like to learn more about. Basically the form is a direct line to me and my team, and I definitely want this To be interactive. I want to build an interactive Conversation here.

So you're also welcome to shoot me a DM on social and follow along Those links are also in the show notes and however you choose to reach out I'm always excited to hear from y'all. So welcome. Welcome. All right. So today's topic is one that is near and dear to my heart. And that is the topic of preparing for ketamine.

Honestly, all preparing for a ketamine journey is one of the most crucial steps in working with ketamine. It's a step that is often overlooked, but in my experience, it's the beginning of the integration and work that can make a difference. All the difference. A lot of people are coming to ketamine from a place of deep struggle, you know, battling depression, anxiety, trauma, other challenges, sometimes for years.

And for so many, this journey has been long and it's been hard. And if you want ketamine to be that definitive line in the sand between who you've been and who you're ready to be. become preparation is key.

I honestly cannot overstate enough how important it is for anyone coming to ketamine to take a moment and prepare yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally for this to be the threshold rather than just something else that you try. So that's what we're diving into today.

Okay, there is a golden rule to psychedelic use and it says set and setting and it's just as important with ketamine as it is with any other psychedelic. So let's dive into that. The setting is the environment in which you take the substance. It plays a huge role in your experience. That is why with Ketamine, I always advocate for working in a clinical setting, a clinic that provides a safe, controlled, and supportive environment where you can let go of any external concerns and fully focus on your journey.

When the setting is taken care of, you can turn your attention to set, which is all about your mindset. And that is So important to consider your mindset going into the experience and this includes preparing your conscious mind for sure But even more importantly preparing your subconscious mind because that is the place where real transformation happens And it's where your intention comes in

And if you're here and more interested in the 3D physical preparation for your ketamine journey, that's also important. Hang out at the end of the episode. I'll give you my checklist of physical prep. And I really want to lead with the mental emotional prep, that I really fosters the fertile environment for deep lasting transformation to happen.

Okay, so let's dive into it. Think about a road trip Okay, if you were planning a road trip, which is one of my favorite things i've been on so many road trips over the past four years the first thing that you would do is take an inventory of like, okay. Well, where am I right now? That's the exact first step in the process that I have taken so many clients through in the past three years, helping them prepare for their ketamine journey.

And the process that I developed can be summed up in three steps. So step number one is acknowledging your journey up until now. So that, you know, analogy of taking a stock of your current location, where are you? Number two is imagining what your life could be like If a magic wand were waved over, , and this is what I consider sorting through possible destinations.

Okay, I'm here, but I can go all these different places. What's next? And step three in that is setting an intention is where your GPS is set to move forward to. So like I said, I've been taking clients on this process for the past three years. It is my favorite way to set an intention for journeys. And I'll have to do another whole episode of why like the power of intention and why it's really the golden key, right?

We understand setting is so important and why set and intention is really important. I definitely want to make that its own episode. So for this episode, we'll just get into the steps to getting the intention and then I'll explain in another other episode why it's super important. Okay. First step in preparing mentally and emotionally is acknowledging your journey up until now.

Okay, so taking a moment to reflect on everything that has brought you to this point. That includes your struggles, your victories, your pains, your triumphs, everything that you've had along the way. Acknowledging that every single thing is important when you are honoring your journey. So to recognize, the strength that it takes to give yourself credit.

for what you have accomplished to how you've gotten through things, how things have, been up until now. Acknowledging your journey helps you enter the ketamine experience with more clarity. You're taking a radically honest, self responsible inventory of your life. Like I said, it's like Setting your GPS.

You have to start with where you are. And that's, that sets the stage for the transformation that you're embarking on. So I do recommend taking your time with this step and really cultivating self compassion. You know, as you look back, can you see all of your actions, inaction, steps, missteps, all of it?

Can you see that you're doing your best? Can you look back with a lens on all the wins that you've had, right? Like focusing on what can I celebrate here? Um, take your time with that. And the second step. Okay. So the second step is imagining what your life could look like. like if there were a magic wand to wave over it.

I actually have a magic wand in my bag that I always carry with me. That's so funny. I'll get it on the next recording. This is, okay, so this is where you get to dream big without any limitations. What would your life look like, sound like, feel like if all the barriers were removed? What would you be doing?

How would you be feeling? What would you be cultivating? What would you, you know, be surrounded by? How would you spend your time, your day? This is not just a fun exercise, although I hope you do turn it into a fun exercise. It's a powerful way to give your subconscious mind an uplift. It gives you a set of options for what you'll be, what you could be, moving towards, right?

It gives you a chance to play in your subconscious mind with the possibilities and vividly imagine your ideal life without any limitations, but rather with pure imagination, you're sorting through all the seeds that you could be planting in the subconscious mind, all the places you could be going, on your road trip.

And this is something that you'll get to flourish, see flourish and grow with your ketamine. So yeah, number two, this step is really about giving yourself permission to envision the life you truly want and really allowing yourself to daydream of all the possible destinations. It's important, I promise.

And honestly, the more uncomfortable it is for you, the more you need it.

All right, third step. So let's get all of this distilled into an intention. Ketamine is, , known to bring profound shifts in your perspective and your emotions and your sense of self and your intention is what helps you guide the experience so that as you experience shifts, it's giving it direction. So, I want you to keep in mind that change on the subconscious mind is difficult even when you're moving towards something positive.

There's other times that I've spoken about this. I'll do more about this later. in the future for sure, but just knowing that change is hard even when it's for the better, because the subconscious mind is designed to stay the same. So the third step is about getting clear on your intention as a way to ready yourself, ready your subconscious mind for the transformation that's about to take place.

And your intention becomes the second half of your GPS. It becomes the, Place where you're going.

Okay. So if in step one you set where you are by completing all the steps You set the destination of your journey This becomes your north star, your guiding light that can guide you through the process of change It's something that you're going to keep coming back to throughout the ketamine journeys Definitely and then in the integration that comes after ketamine as well so You know, preparing for change means being open to the unexpected.

It involves trusting the process and committing to staying focused on that north guiding star. It's really stepping into the unknown. It's cultivating courage and being ready for whatever comes up. It's really about listening to yourself in a new way and acting in a way that you're probably not used to.

So doing this stuff, all of these different ways that you'll be that are outside your comfort zone, making less sense in your life, your intent, your intention is crucial to stay on track with this process. Okay, so let's sum up, , this mental, emotional part of preparing for ketamine. So step one, , radically honest, set your GPS and, , that is just acknowledging where you are so that you can start the process of change.

In the second step, , where do you want to go daydream about all the possible destinations? Just get your mind thinking in different ways. Step three. Set the destination point. That is your intention. It's also your destination and that is where you're going to keep guiding everything towards.

, and so yeah, this is the mental emotional part of the, preparation piece. And I just want you to see like all the different steps that we followed here, right? Like there's three steps and they're so profound in each way. Step one, really getting clear on your journey up until now, how did you get to You know current date current year all of this right?

Step two. Okay. Well, I want to go somewhere else. Where do I want to go? And then step three, okay, that's where I'm setting my sights to knowing I can always change reroute But that's where I'm going and can you see how if you don't take the time to prepare yourself to go into this? Labyrinth of change you might be more susceptible to getting lost and that's why I'm so so passionate about Oh this holistic approach to preparation that That goes beyond the physical that I will talk about in a moment, but goes to the mental and emotional because there's people, , coming to ketamine without this context.

And I think it's crucial if you want to transform with ketamine to know the content. What is happening? It's way more common for people to get the 3d preparation points. And like I said, I'll get to that right now, but I want you to have these two. And in my opinion, they are just as, if not more important, , as the physical stuff that I'll get into, , right about now.

But I will just say really quickly. So if you know someone who's about to embark on this journey or even already in their ketamine journey, I would really appreciate it. If you could, , share this episode with them, the information that I covered specifically about that mental, emotional preparation is less likely to be covered.

And it really. can be the difference between something, you know, that ketamine being something they get through and something they transform through. Okay. So let's dive into 3D preparation and I'll break this part down into three sections as well. Humans love things in threes. So let's break down the 3D preparation in the days and the weeks leading up to ketamine, the day of treatment, and post ketamine care.

So leading up to ketamine in the days or the weeks leading up to your ketamine session, , make sure you talk to your doctor about any medications or supplements that you're on. , they might have some guidelines for you.

You might need to adjust dosage, or just take into consideration and they will let you know all of that. Beyond that, you know, really, Begin paying attention to your consumption, right? Both physical consumption, what you ingest and the energetic consumption of what's around you. , do your best to nourish yourself with healthy foods.

Definitely stay hydrated, get plenty of rest, avoid Ah, anything that might, you know, get into your mind, , anything that might weigh down your body, uh, you know, definitely alcohol, drugs, cannabis, excessive caffeine. Those are definitely things to bring down, if not eliminate altogether. It's also a good time to start cutting back on screen time and really focus on what Focusing on activities that calm the nervous system.

Meditation is great. Time in nature is great. Yoga is great. , you want these practices to help you prepare physically, but also, to clear your mental space, especially as you're going through the mental emotional preparation as well. , and.

The day of treatment. Okay, so on the day of your ketamine session keep things light Literally, literally and figuratively. So you want to stop eating three hours or more before your session. I've heard clinics suggest up to eight hours of avoiding foods and that is for people that have may be really prone to nausea.

So personally, I use the three to four hour rule and make sure that the last meal is really light. , you definitely want to avoid any sort of heavy meal 24 hours of your ketamine session, if not even longer. Again, as you're cleansing and re, , Working your subconscious mind, but as far as fasting with ketamine I would definitely check with a doctor and make sure that fasting is a practice that you've had and that you've tried on outside of just ketamine if you are Comfortable fasting because fasting is its own thing It is fine to go into ketamine in a fasted state, fasted state, and if you're someone that needs to eat, , then, you know, keeping it really light and again, three to four hours, , before your session.

So what to bring to the clinic day of your ketamine, make sure you're wearing comfortable clothing and you have layers, including socks and a sweatshirt. You can also bring a blanket or a comfort item. I've had. clients bring stuffies and other things like a Mala bead or a grounding stone.

Any comfort item is nice to have a lot of clinics will offer these as well. So you can get that information ahead of time, or if you prefer your own, bring your own, you definitely want to give yourself plenty of time to get to your appointment. So you're not rushing or stressed, , to arrive at the clinic.

I've been there. It's rough. So mentally just take a few moments. to center yourself, deep breathing, , maybe a brief meditation and check in with your intention. Again, that's your guiding North star. You want to check in with that. This, remember that this is your time, it's your space and it's important to enter centered and clear and focused.

And then you're in. Okay. So then after ketamine, You know after ketamine is really about however you feel it's different for everyone and it's Exceptionally common also that every session is different as well My advice is to clear your calendar so you can honor However, you feel if you feel like you want to take a nap great If you want to journal or take a light walk in nature or yoga class or meditating those can be really nice, too whatever you decide to do you want to give yourself the same space and time to land from your experience and release what that looks like, whether it's something more passive or more active.

As long as you're landing, that's the point. You want to avoid rushing back into any busyness or stress of life and allow yourself as much as you can to ease back in. , this is just the beginning right the academy gives you insights it gives you the way forward But this is really just the beginning of the transformation.

So you really want to honor. That you're embarking on something really special. Okay, so that brings us to the end of today's episode. Thanks for making it all the way to the end with me. I hope today's episode really showed you how preparing for ketamine is a whole thing. And it really is just as much about your mental and emotional state as it is about your physical body.

Your 3d prep points, you know what to eat what to avoid how to take care of your body Are crucial for sure Important and it's also important to stay focused on the power of preparing the mind and the heart and the subconscious for this transformational experience Ketamine is not just about what happens during the sessions, as I mentioned, that's just the beginning.

It's about how what happens in the sessions, , ripples through life afterwards. So, acknowledging where you've been, Imagining where you wanna go and then preparing yourself for the changes ahead. You're really sta setting the stage for a truly life changing journey, and you're going into it with an intention which check out.

There'll be an episode about the golden guiding magical power of intention. I'll break down. Why it's so special, , check back for that episode, subscribe. So you always know when episodes land. Thank you for tuning in. Please share this episode with anyone who might be considering ketamine or already in it and, until next time, you know.