Getting ketamine assisted therapy (KAT) is an investment. We recognize that this is a commitment. Many ask, ‘what is a positive result or outcome from KAT that I should expect with all the time, effort, and money I have spent?’
It’s natural for people ask this question and others. How do I know I am getting better? How do I know that my journey is leading me in the right direction?
At ShaMynds Healing Center, we are respectful and humbled by the fact that everyone’s journey is unique, almost as unique as their fingerprint. We avoid making comparisons to other people because of this uniqueness. We recommend that you avoid trying to compare your experience and journey with others.
We are happy to provide you with some direction and framework of how progress might look…
Defining Success
You arrived at this form of therapy most likely because you sense a lack of completeness, you feel that something is deeply lacking in your life, and you are not willing to completely give up. You want to try a therapy that may return that sense of agency or self. That is usually a good place to begin to set intentions and goals.
You may also note that your experience with ketamine may quiet or settle many of the distressing symptoms you experience as it relates to your mental health. That is another aspect of success of the treatment.
You may also note a deeper sense of connectedness with your authentic self and with others. You may feel more forgiving and accepting of yourself. You may feel that things usually bothersome are lessened. We call this an increase in your “window of tolerance”. However, paradoxically, some people experience emotions – tough ones or happy ones – that they may not have experienced in a long time.
Some people experience what is called the “Therapeutic Bends”- a period of disequilibrium and difficulty adjusting to rapid healing and recovery—sort of the same feeling that people experience when coming up to the surface after diving. It is important to acknowledge that even positive changes can be stressful or have unintended consequences—That often can be built into your ongoing intention and goals further when you approach the experience with RAIN
Recognize, Acknowledge, Investigate and Nurture- those emotions.
Ways We Can Measure Progress
While there is so much subjectivity and individuality in what people experience and define as ‘getting better’, at ShaMynds we still use validated surveys to track improvement. These are administered to you in the form of written surveys along your journey with us and we share the information with you. We also combine it with your subjective experience to arrive at a more complete picture of how you are progressing. We are aware that these surveys are not perfect, however, they do provide baseline and ongoing information that is very helpful in dosing and your plan of care.
At ShaMynds, our approach to treating you is WHOLISTIC- Mynd-Body-Soul. Hence, we approach how you are doing also with looking at things like what is going on within your body, how that is improving or not with the treatment. We often see people’s ability to meditate, nourish their souls, their body (food, sleep, exercise) improve dramatically. We see blood pressures improve, we see thyroid function improve and on and on. We offer you additional testing from special laboratories that provide testing for gut biome, nutrition, chronic infections, immunity, and genetics. Very often, there is improvement in many of these markers which indicate successes of your therapy and treatment.
Here are also some questions you can ask yourself to gauge your improvement:Do I get as irritated with things as I did before?
Am I feeling more in the moment rather than constantly thinking about the past or future?
Am I feeling more optimistic about myself and things?
Am I able to observe my thoughts and be objective and calm about what I am hearing?
Another way to gauge your progress is to ask people in your life whom you trust to provide you an honest opinion about how they think you are doing. Ask them to tell you if they have noticed any changes- positive or negative.
Please remember that the journey to healing and your transformation has just begun. It is an ongoing process with expansions and contractions. You are likely not going to have a sudden moment of feeling like you are fully healed. With the support of the ketamine, your ongoing work on yourself and therapy, you will gradually discover a new sense of self. Different than what you may have experienced with the traditional medications—because you are going to the ROOT CAUSE. With ongoing work on the new sense of awareness, you will be able to work on yourself in a very different way than before.
Conclusion
Remember, healing is not a straight line. It is undulating, complex, and can take time. Continue to observe where you feel you are excelling- where you are feeling success with your life, your external world and your inner state of being. Think carefully about what works for you to nurture these areas further.
By keeping this all in perspective, you will begin to create the set of life situations and internal state of being to continue that beautiful, albeit sometimes challenging, journey. You will be able to use your INNER HEALING INTELLIGENCE to guide you onwards.
