Innovative Psychiatry
The news outlets, journals, and lifestyle magazines have been chock-full of articles about ketamine treatment for depression the last few years, with sprinklings about esketamine from time to time… Then, this past March, esketamine received FDA approval for depression and suicidal ideation under the name Spravato. Developed by Janssen, owned by Johnson & Johnson, esketamine […]
In scientific journal letter, Hopkins psychiatrist Adam Kaplin disputes a study claiming ketamine is an opioid. Ketamine has gotten a bad reputation as an opioid—when there’s plenty of evidence suggesting it isn’t one, say Johns Hopkins experts. They believe this misconception may prevent patients from getting necessary treatment for the kinds of depression that don’t respond […]
Stigma Isolates, Humiliates, and Separates As I think about what to write today, my thoughts are filled with a comment I received from a man who’d read last week’s blog, which you can read here. He wrote that he also suffers from bipolar 1 disorder and was upset and hurt by the description of the young […]
Ketamine has gotten a bad rap as an opioid when there’s plenty of evidence suggesting it isn’t one, Johns Hopkins experts say. They believe this reputation may hamper patients from getting necessary treatment for the kinds of depression that don’t respond to typical antidepressants. In a new paper, the researchers clarify the mechanism behind ketamine’s […]
“I don’t care what the &%@!* you think!! It’s all your fault!! I’m outta here!!!” With that, Ben picked up the massive carved oak coffee table and threw it at the window. It hit the window and the wall with a thud, pushing the window frame in a contorted mangle of metal and glass out […]
Know someone who’s suicidal? Or…how about this? Do you know someone you think might be? Is there someone in your life who’s always down, irritable, short-tempered… even jumpy, maybe? Maybe you wish they’d adjust their attitude, or take a chill pill. Sometimes, people can be like this and the problem is that they might be […]
BY M. ALEXANDER OTTO REPORTING FROM APA 2019 SAN FRANCISCO – Serial ketamine infusions eliminated suicidal ideation in more than two-thirds of patients at a psychiatry office in Connecticut but at significantly higher doses than those recently approved for Janssen’s new esketamine nasal spray (Spravato). The patients were treated by Lori V. Calabrese, MD, at […]
When someone commits suicide, you’ll sometimes hear people say, “It makes no sense! She had everything to live for…” Or, “What a selfish thing to do. What about all the people who loved him? What about his kids…his wife..?” But this sort of tragedy isn’t about selfishness. To grasp what happens with your suicidal loved […]
Treatment can help anxious moms relax and enjoy their babies. Jill was so excited to be pregnant. She’d waited for 4 years after she and Joe were married to start trying. She was just elated three months later when a home pregnancy test showed those two little lines. She was pregnant! Even the slightest thought of […]
Eat a diet that supports your positive mood and mental health. We’ve talked about the microbiome, or “second brain,” and how we can weaken or strengthen it with what we eat. We’ve talked about eating fresh vegetables of all colors. And how fermented foods like sauerkraut, pickles, kimchee, and kombucha introduce healthful organisms into our […]