May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and what better way to spread awareness than to hear from some of our members on how their mental health changed for the better through ketamine-assisted therapy at Nushama. We offer six ketamine-assisted therapy sessions over three weeks. Whether you struggle with depression, anxiety, or some other mood disorder and are considering psychedelic therapy for treatment, these inspiring stores may help you decide.
“I now clearly understand, ‘I am enough.’”
“My ketamine infusions have been profound. Revisiting beliefs and questioning negative characteristics through a new lens has helped me integrate better options into my life. Each visit improved my mood, mindfulness, and sense of inner peace. The effect was cumulative and stays with me. I now clearly understand ‘I am enough.’” – Adam P.
“This has significantly changed my life for the better… I can be there emotionally for others and have more empathy as well.”
“My life and core relationships were very good before beginning ketamine treatment; a successful and fulfilling career, great marriage, good health, and fun hobbies. Even so, I suffered from anxiety and a short fuse several times a week for many years – almost always episodic due to interactions with people. I also traditionally have lots of thoughts racing around in my head before sleep and sometimes in the middle of the night, making for imperfect sleep patterns. Nothing was crippling to my daily life, but there was definitely a lot of room for improvement.”
“Before ketamine treatment, I was a little unsure of what to expect and was actually skeptical of whether or not I would get anything out of the experience. But I am very open-minded, so figured, ‘Why not?’ From the very first journey, I was quite surprised at how impactful it was. I set reasonable intentions before each journey and worked with Nushama’s great integrators before and after each one to help integrate my journey. I then stayed very mindful of the journeys between visits, observing how I process and interact with the world around me.”
“I have now completed my planned set of six journeys and will soon be going back for a first booster. This has significantly changed my life for the better. I sleep really well at night and don’t get rattled by people and situations. The same situations are still there; I somehow understand more about the dynamics of what’s going on around me and how I am responsible for my own response to them. This makes it much easier to move through my life and enjoy it fully. I even think I can be there emotionally more for others and have more empathy as well.” – David G.
“I was able to truly tell myself, ‘I love me,’ something I never truly and honestly felt about myself, EVER.”
“I have had crippling anxiety and depression for my entire life. My parents have used the term ‘shy’ when describing my personality since I was probably three years old. Yeah, I was shy, but I was also constantly afraid and nervous. I didn’t know it was anxiety until my early 20s when I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety by a psychiatrist. It was debilitating, scary, and overwhelming to be in a constant state of anxiousness. It led me to self-medicate with any substance I could put into my body, and it only masked my problems temporarily. I finally decided to do something different, as I had tried everything the doctors had prescribed, but again the medicines only masked the issues and made me ‘robotic.’”
“After a recent anxiety attack, I looked into ketamine treatments, as I had read articles about it. That led me to Nushama, and I could not have made a better choice. Before embarking on my first journey, I walked into Nushama feeling anxious and depressed. I walked out feeling anxiety-free with little to no depression. I immediately felt the ability to talk about my past with my family and other loved ones, and I was able to express my journey experience. By my second journey, I was able to key in on the past experiences that helped my anxiety thrive, re-live them in a positive light and let it all go. After each journey, I felt more comfortable in my own skin. During my sixth journey, I was able to truly tell myself, ‘I love me,’ something I never truly and honestly felt about myself, EVER.” – Aaron S.
“I felt released and free of all that was hindering me. It was a manifestation of revelations.”
“Nushama treatment has been an awakening for me. I’ve used it to treat my PTSD. On my first treatment, it opened my heart to what I knew I was feeling inside but had never really vocalized aloud. I had a revelation of being trapped by my past adversities and circumstances. On my second treatment, I felt released and free of all that was hindering me. It was a manifestation of revelations. A lot came up in reflection after the first treatment; the medicine reveals the inner you. It is quite refreshing to get out of your head and look at it from an observant standpoint. I can let go of past regressions or aggression and start living a fuller life.” – Jessica V.
“After my first week of infusions, all suicidal ideations evaporated.”
“This treatment is neither a miracle nor magic, but science.”
“I have been in and out of therapy since 2010. After my first week of infusions, all suicidal ideations evaporated. I still have the ups and downs of life, but the downs feel less extreme. I feel emotionally lighter. No longer do I feel fettered by my depression.”
“My past struggles with depersonalization and derealization have, thus far, remained absent. My baseline functioning was autopilot, but not once have I slipped back into that cold state of functioning. I feel more connected to myself and the world around me than I can ever remember. After my first infusion, I felt the gap between my thoughts and emotions begin to bridge. For years I have fought against my body; I now feel my body is my home.”
“Since 2010, I have tried more antidepressants and auxiliary medications than I have fingers and toes. It’s almost comical to think I had resigned myself to that. The difference I feel is immense. My spouse says I have been reinvigorated; my friends and family have noticed the positive shift as well. After treatment, I find myself engaging in hobbies not in an attempt to cope or distract myself from depression but for enjoyment.” – Rosemarie L
“Ketamine treatment helped me get to a point where I was in control of my depression vs. my depression controlling me.”
“Before Nushama, my emotional state was really bad. I was diagnosed with stage-three colon cancer during the pandemic. Being in a cancer hospital surrounded by terminally ill and sick people was tough, and it got worse the more time I spent there and became hospitalized. I came out of that experience with depression, anxiety, and PTSD.”
“After my chemo treatment, I was cancer-free, so I thought the darkness would lift at that point. However, it was made worse because I had only been focused on my treatment prior. I then started to feel all the sadness that transpired—my depression and anxiety became paralyzing, and I couldn’t do the most basic things like getting out of bed or bathing. I couldn’t process the idea of living anymore.”
“I tried two different kinds of anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medications, but they were not working. I was not responding to anything, and I had no emotions as I was indifferent. I had a paralyzing feeling that didn’t allow me to process any thoughts. My bed was my safest space and the only place I wanted to be.”
“Ketamine treatment helped me get to a point where I was in control of my depression vs. my depression controlling me. I started exercising, returning to being healthy, and reconnecting with friends—the push I needed to be strong enough to do these things on my own again. I was able to go back to the office, which is huge as my job is embedded in my DNA at this point! Instead of my colleagues and loved ones seeing someone who looked sick, they were happy to see me looking and feeling great! I was able to get off my PTSD medications, and I’m working with my psychiatrist to taper off my anti-depressants as well! I did a complete 180—I attribute that to the ketamine and Nushama entirely!”
“The treatments allow you to go deep into yourself—you experience a higher self behind the layers of who you are. This self is deeply wise, and you feel so much love. I didn’t know how to describe it at first. I knew it was me who felt 100% okay—it made me realize I can be that person, and that’s what I want. The level of love you feel is like the world loves you, and you love it back, and it’s all connected somehow.” – Andrea E.
“Now that I’ve been through treatment, I am more engaged. Not just with my wife and daughter socially, but with life.”
“Before Nushama, I had high anxiety. I would have nightmares, didn’t like loud noises, didn’t like the city, couldn’t deal with a lot of people in motion, large crowds…I was very angry all the time, and I didn’t know why.”
“It affected my marriage. I don’t know how my wife put up with it. We lost the closeness that we’ve always had. I was fighting it for seven years and getting nowhere. I was seeing a psychiatrist who was keeping me on medications that helped a little bit, slightly, but there was no drastic change for the better. I was still walking around angry and didn’t want to talk to anybody.”
“After my first ketamine infusion, I felt great. I was actually joking around with my wife, which I haven’t done in a very long time. I felt open. The anxiety and the anger were dissipating. I was pretty impressed.”
“Out of the six visits, I had an amazing breakthrough after the third one. After it, I just loved life. I started getting into gardening, which I’ve never done. After the third visit, all the anger and anxiety left me. And I was just constantly happy and joyous. My wife and daughter, who I live with, noticed it right away—even before I did. And then I started thinking about it, and I realized how much I’ve changed.”
“Now that I’ve been through treatment, I am more engaged. Not just with my wife and daughter socially but with life. Planning things out, staying on top of it. Being a 38-year veteran with two-hundred combat missions, I had my act together and then it just fell apart. Now I’m getting back into the groove. I’m getting some exercise now, which I haven’t done in years, so that’s great. I lost some weight actually.”
“Ketamine treatment has been an absolutely positive experience. I wish there would be an awareness made to all veterans leaving the combat field about what this is and how it helps. A lot of guys don’t even realize they have a problem until years after the fact. I know men who have lost their homes, families and have become alcoholics. This is the way to go, absolutely hands down. I would recommend this to everybody. And even if not combat, people who have been through trauma. It’s been amazing.” – Keith L.
“I’m preaching to people now. I say, ‘Life is beautiful,’ it’s insane.”
“Before coming to Nushama, I was depressed, down…seriously thinking about suicide. I lost everything I had in my life; my friends and my mind were horrible.
I started partying with different people. I started smoking weed, drinking heavily. But the next day, I felt like I was going to die. It’s like your life is right there in front of you, and you’re like, ‘What am I doing to myself?’ Last night didn’t change anything. I was completely out of it.”
“After my first ketamine experience, I went to a different place, a different world. I wanted to kill myself because of a bad experience, and then these doors started opening. When I see life, there’s much more than what I got myself involved in. That journey was like opening a door for me that I’d never seen before. It was the most amazing thing I’ve done. And I came back and thought, ‘Let’s do it again.’”
“After just three sessions, I felt like a different man. I’m happy. I embrace life. For example, why would I think of such selfish things as killing myself when I have children? My kids see me as a superhero. Life is about what you make it, and when you have kids, they depend on you. So me doing these ketamine sessions completely changed my life. I love life, love my kids, and make more money than I ever have!”
“I believe there’s a power bigger than us after ketamine—I started doing yoga and meditating. I think every one of us is a god within ourselves. I found that god in me, and now I’m happy. I feel more connected with the world. I embrace the universe. I’m preaching to people now. I say, ‘Life is beautiful,’ it’s insane.”
“Before ketamine treatment, I felt like the whole world was against me. After, it made me realize that it wasn’t the world, but it was me…what I was doing wrong. Sometimes we don’t realize what we’re doing wrong and blame everyone around us. I see life from a different perspective now.” – Patrick S.
These quotes have been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
