Inside Out Consult
03/23/2024
- JP Nagar 6th Phase Bangalore
- 090197 04252
Curiosity and a bit of anxiety are normal when you’re considering ketamine therapy for depression or another mental health condition. Ketamine has been hailed as a fast-acting antidepressant, but unlike taking a pill at home, it involves coming into a clinic for a medical infusion or injection. Understandably, you might wonder: What will actually happen during the treatment? What will I feel? Will I lose control? In this blog, we walk you through the ketamine therapy experience from start to finish – through the eyes of a patient – so you know exactly what to expect. Our aim at Arka Anugraha Hospital’s Integrative Psychiatry department in Bangalore is to make sure patients feel safe, informed, and comfortable at every step of this innovative treatment.
Ketamine is a medication that, in higher doses, has been used as an anesthetic in hospitals for decades. In much smaller doses, it can rapidly alleviate symptoms of depression, even in people who haven’t responded to other treatments. In our clinical setting, ketamine is usually given as an intravenous (IV) infusion over about 40 minutes (or sometimes as a one-time intramuscular injection). It’s always done under careful medical supervision. Ketamine has a reputation as a party drug in high doses (“Special K”), but therapeutic ketamine is very different – it’s a controlled medical procedure in a safe environment.
Our doctors screen each patient beforehand to ensure ketamine is appropriate and safe (for example, checking blood pressure, since ketamine can raise it temporarily). On the day of treatment, you’ll be in a calm, monitored setting. You won’t be “knocked out” like for surgery; instead, ketamine at the doses used for mood disorders induces a trance-like state often described as a “dissociative” experience. This means you feel detached from your ordinary reality – which is actually a key part of how the therapy works, helping you break out of rigid, negative thought patterns.
Now, let’s imagine you are about to undergo ketamine therapy at our clinic. We’ll guide you through it step by step and share what many patients commonly feel at each stage.
After initial consultations and being cleared for ketamine therapy, you arrive on the day of your appointment. You’re greeted by our staff and led to a comfortable treatment room. It doesn’t look like a typical hospital room – we’ve made it more soothing, with a recliner chair instead of a bed, soft lighting, and perhaps gentle music if you like.
Before starting, our nurse checks your vital signs (blood pressure, pulse, oxygen) as a routine safety measure. A small intravenous line is placed in your arm – just a quick pinprick, and if you’re nervous about needles, we can use numbing cream or other techniques to make it easier. Once the IV is set, you’re almost ready.
We review the procedure with you one more time and answer any last-minute questions. Knowing that you have control (you can ask to pause the infusion if you’re uncomfortable, though that’s rarely needed) helps you relax. Some patients practice a few slow, deep breaths or a brief mindfulness exercise we’ve taught them to settle any jitters. You might feel a mix of hope and nervousness – hope that this treatment might finally lift the depression, and nerves about the unknown experience. These feelings are completely normal. Our team is right there with you, assuring you that you’re not alone and that we’ll be monitoring you the whole time.
When you’re ready, we begin the infusion. The ketamine enters your bloodstream at a controlled rate.
As the ketamine begins to take effect, you likely won’t notice anything for the first few minutes. You’re sitting comfortably, perhaps making light small talk with the nurse. Typically within 5–10 minutes, you’ll start sensing something is different – perhaps a lightness or tingling in your body, and a slight blurring or intensification of sounds and colors around you. Many people say they aren’t sure exactly when the shift happens; it can be gradual.
Soon, you enter a dreamy state. Ketamine’s dissociative effect often makes you feel detached from your body – like you’re floating or drifting gently. Your thoughts take on a dream-like quality. Don’t be surprised if your perception of time changes; those 40 minutes might feel much longer or shorter than they actually are. You might see closed-eye visuals: not typically concrete hallucinations of people or places, but more like kaleidoscopic colors or patterns. Some describe feeling like they’re traveling in their mind – perhaps zooming out as if they’re viewing themselves from above, or journeying through imaginative landscapes.
Emotionally, ketamine sessions can vary. Many people experience a profound sense of calm and detachment from their usual worries. It’s as if the volume on negative thoughts is turned way down. Some patients report that they revisited difficult memories or emotions during the session, but felt oddly at peace or objective about them – as if observing from a distance without being overwhelmed. For instance, someone might think of a personal loss and normally that thought triggers intense sadness, but under ketamine they notice the sadness is present yet bearable, wrapped in a sense of acceptance or even curiosity. This “observer” perspective is a hallmark of the ketamine experience for many.
Physically, you remain very relaxed in the chair. You can still talk if needed – and we might occasionally ask “How are you doing?” – but most patients choose to keep their eyes closed and stay silent, focusing inward. Your nurse is by your side the entire time, monitoring your blood pressure and ensuring you’re okay. If at any point you feel uncomfortable or anxious, you can speak up. We’re prepared to support you, whether that’s by guiding you with a few calming words or, if necessary, adjusting the infusion speed. In practice, significant distress is uncommon; once the initial unfamiliarity passes, people generally find the experience strange but not frightening. Some actually find it pleasant or intriguing.
To give you an idea of patient descriptions: People often use words like floaty, dream-like, peaceful, surreal, or “out-of-body”. Some have brief moments of euphoria or a sense of connection with the universe; others simply feel like their mind took a break from itself. And importantly, while you are in an altered state, you do not lose total awareness – you typically know you are in a treatment room and that you’ve taken ketamine, so there’s a context that keeps it from feeling completely out of control. You won’t be running around or saying things you don’t want to; in fact, you mostly stay still and quiet.
After about 40 minutes, we stop the ketamine and your journey gradually comes to an end. The medicine’s intense effects fade over the next 10 to 15 minutes, and your ordinary senses of time and place return. You remain seated as we continue to monitor you, allowing you to re-ground safely.
Many patients describe feeling calm or mellow shortly after an infusion, albeit a little dazed. Mild side effects like nausea or headache can occur, but we can address these promptly (they usually subside quickly on their own). We’ll have you relax in our clinic until you feel steady. You’ll need to have someone drive you home, and we advise taking it easy for the rest of the day – you might feel pleasantly tired or simply reflective. By the next morning, any residual grogginess will be gone.
During this immediate recovery phase, you might try to articulate what you felt. Some patients share a few snippets of their experience (“I felt like I was in a cloud” or “I saw my problems laid out like puzzle pieces”), while others prefer to just rest quietly. Both are okay. We often encourage journaling later that day to capture any insights, because the specifics of the ketamine dream can slip away like a fading dream.
We’ll schedule your next session (a typical treatment course is 6 sessions over 2–3 weeks, since research shows repeated sessions yield more lasting benefits). And we remind you that each session can feel a bit different – by session 2 or 3, you’ll be more familiar with the sensation and likely even more at ease.
To personalize this, let’s follow a fictional but realistic story of Priya, a 30-year-old woman undergoing ketamine therapy for depression at Arka:
Priya’s Story: Priya is a 30-year-old marketing professional who has battled severe depression for two years. Medications and therapy provided minimal relief. She decided to try ketamine therapy at Arka Anugraha Hospital as a hopeful last resort.
On her first ketamine session, Priya was anxious but our team helped her relax. As the infusion started, she gradually felt her body lighten and her mind drift into a dream-like state. She later described seeing herself from a compassionate “outsider” perspective – at one point, a vision of her younger self arose and, instead of the usual surge of sadness, Priya felt empathy and comfort. She shed tears during the session, but they were gentle tears of release. After waking fully, she noted that her mind was quieter than usual.
Over the next few sessions, Priya’s experiences varied from deeply reflective to surprisingly pleasant. In one session she felt an unexpected lightness and even joy – a stark contrast to the relentless gloom of her depression. Importantly, within a couple of weeks she began noticing changes in her everyday mood. She found herself laughing at a coworker’s joke and feeling hopeful about the day ahead – feelings she hadn’t had in a long time.
By the end of six sessions, Priya’s depression had lifted significantly (about 60% improvement by standard measures). She reported that mornings were easier and the once-constant weight on her chest had eased. Ketamine therapy, as she put it, “flipped a switch” in her perspective. With her depression in retreat, Priya could engage more actively with therapy and self-care routines, creating a positive cycle of improvement. What initially seemed like a frightening treatment turned into a profoundly healing journey for her.
Ketamine therapy can sound intimidating, but as you can see, the reality is typically far gentler and more controlled than people imagine. Patients often come out of their first session saying, “That wasn’t bad at all – actually kind of interesting.” The experience can even be profound or pleasant. More importantly, for many individuals, ketamine therapy provides a light in the darkness of depression – sometimes a rapid light when it’s most needed.
If you or a loved one are considering ketamine treatment, it’s normal to have lots of questions about what it feels like and whether it’s right for you. We encourage you to reach out and have a conversation with our integrative psychiatry team. We’ll give you all the information you need and support you through the process if you decide to proceed.
Book a Free Discovery Call with Arka Anugraha Hospital’s Integrative Psychiatry department, and let’s discuss if ketamine therapy (or another integrative treatment) could be part of your healing journey. You deserve to experience relief from depression, and we’re here to guide you with compassion, expertise, and honesty about what each step entails. In Priya’s words after her treatment, “I got to feel like myself again.” That is the feeling we strive for – helping you rediscover the lightness and hope that depression had obscured, one step (or session) at a time.
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