Connect
← Return to Depression: What treatment can I try after so many years?
Discussion
Depression: What treatment can I try after so many years?
Depression & Anxiety | Last Active: Jun 21, 2023 | Replies (181)Comment receiving replies
After being diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression (and anxiety), my insurance covered transcranial magnetic stimulation, which helped a lot. I also did ketamine treatment, which my insurance did not cover, which was even more helpful.
The next big thing in treating mental illness is going to be psychedelic drugs. The FDA is expected to approve psilocybin and MDMA as treatments for depression/anxiety & PTSD within the next two years, respectively. Experts believe it needs to be accompanied by short, intensive psychotherapy, so this is really considered psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. This is not using these drugs recreationally. If you’re skeptical, watch the Netflix series “How to Change Your Mind” based on the book by Michael Pollan. They have videos of patients undergoing the treatment in clinical trials, as well as interviews in which they say just a handful of treatments did what years of conventional drugs and therapies failed to do. It gave them their lives back. I was literally in tears watching it.
There is hope for healing by harnessing our own minds with the help of these miracle drugs.
Replies to "After being diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression (and anxiety), my insurance covered transcranial magnetic stimulation, which helped..."
Hello @cococoyote and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I am glad to hear you are finding treatments and solutions to help you along your journey. Did you happen to consult your doctor about your interest in ketamine prior to trying that?
The “How to Change Your Mind” docuseries on Netflix is based upon and named after Michael Pollan’s book of the same title, which is especially enlightening if you are interested in the history of psychedelics and their successes in the treatment of mental health disorders. Another really good documentary, currently on Netflix, that delves into the surprisingly little understood mushroom is titled “Fantastic Fungi” - the stunning (ground breaking, really) discoveries that a guy named Paul Stamets has made which harbor a measure of hope for the betterment of our health and our planet.
Connect
I watched the series a couple weeks ago and felt hopeful, too. I have been so inspired that I am pursuing helping to legalize the drugs through the movement Decriminalize Nature. I tried THC and found it very helpful for pain and to think Mother Earth has provided marijuana and many other plants for our well-being, to have a government criminalize the growing of and taking of the plants, imprisoning people, is what is criminal. I am seeking out more information. Hearing the testimonials brings me hope that someday I can find a therapist to administer the plant-based 'drugs' to me. Any info someone has about the progress of this movement, or any therapists please let me know.