Ketamine no better than placebo at alleviating depression, unusual trial finds

The problem is that their conclusion is not going to be read as “wow, it’s the trip that helps more than just the chemical.” Instead it’ll be read as “well I guess this chemical doesn’t work at all.”

The notion that the trip is the therapeutic element seems oddly frightening or threatening to a lot of people.

… Or at least it’s not what they’re looking for. The quest is for a pill that works deterministically without any need to involve consciousness.

I agree in principle, though having tried most of the various types of trippy substances, I've yet to encounter one that hasn't showed potential for a short term antidepressant effect. I guess I haven't tried those weird delta opioid ligands(salvia divonorum). I guess deliriants(like diphenhydramine) would have about zero antidepressant effect too, but that would have possible negative effects, even being liable to cause trauma.

I believe benzodiazepines have also been tried as an active placebo but I don't remember what the results were.

Indeed, I remember a while back there was a TikTok filter going around where it made old people look younger.

One of the people using it said it basically had cured her self-perception issues; she had been bullied for her looks as a child and internalized that she was ugly. But as an adult when she saw her younger face in the app, she realized immediately how the characterization of that face as ugly was just the perception of child bullies.

And it wasn't something that photographs could do for her -- it was the fact that it was her younger face superimposed on her current body, and that it was moving as she moved which gave her a new "way of looking" as you put it. In a sense, AI gave her a chemical-free trip.

There's a simple reference that doesn't even need to be quoted: SSRIs are approved for treating depression in all major countries on Earth. And this approval required they pass phase 3 clinical trials, demonstrating effectiveness over placebo.

Also, given that they are typically preferred over other classes of anti-depressants (try-cyclics etc), we also know they have demonstrated better effectiveness than other drugs.

Given all this, it is obviously up to the person flippantly contradicting well-established medical practice to provide citations, or rightfully be accused of spreading FUD.

I've been taking oral ketamine for about 2 years now. Not super frequently, probably ~6-10x/year. I feel like it's been a pretty helpful addition to my life, but it's not what I expected at all.

To me, ketamine isn't really "enjoyable" or seem to modify my mood directly or anything like that. What it does do is shift my perspective for a few minutes and makes me introspective in ways I can only see as healthy.

Sometimes I think about my wife, my children, my finances, my work, my parents, cleaning the bathroom, whatever life issues I might be struggling with at that moment but the perspective shift brings a clarity to the issue and the solution seems obvious. I often want to jump off the couch and feel invigorated and motivated. (Of course ketamine also makes you fatigued so it's a bit of a strange mix of feelings). I mentally want to do things but physically I am not able to—that's fine though.

I'm also an experienced meditator and have done traditional psychedelics, neither of those have improved my life as much as ketamine has. Meditation is simply really hard for me despite over a decade of trying and failing to make it a daily habit. Psychedelics work very well for introspection, but they're also terrifying and in my mid-30's I am pretty sure this is something I'm content with not needing to deal with again.

I once heard someone say that psychedelics are like color TV and ketamine is black-and-white. Somehow this describes the feeling exactly to me. Ketamine isn't nearly as intense as LSD/psilocybin and that's the best part IMO.

My life is in relatively good shape, but a monthly-ish tune-up with ketamine seems to have really been effective.