It’s just life: Toil and strife (what my father wrote to me 20 years ago that applies right now)
Read Sober Psychonaut disclaimer for people in sobriety exploring psychedelic medicine Since I’ve been working on this memoir and sifting through letters my father wrote me over the years, certain wisdom strikes me differently than it did when he first delivered it. At the time he wrote this missive in 2001, it was the year I got laid […]
What happened during integration circle (group support) for ketamine therapy
Read Sober Psychonaut disclaimer for people in sobriety exploring psychedelic medicine As part of the comprehensive Mindbloom package, which includes not only your consult with a clinician, your prescribed ketamine pills, a trained guide or coach available to help you work through anything that comes up for you during ketamine treatment sessions, along with myriad online articles, soundtracks […]
Look up, look up! Look to the sky
Read Sober Psychonaut disclaimer for people in sobriety exploring psychedelic medicine As part of my ketamine therapy integration work, I took a winter walk some days before I left for Costa Rica and aside from the fact that it was icy and worth watching my footing, I found myself looking down the whole time. When I realized my […]
Integration of my sixth ketamine therapy session
Read Sober Psychonaut disclaimer for people in sobriety exploring psychedelic medicine One thing I’ve noticed is no desire to use/do ketamine in between therapy sessions. Mindbloom asks along the way if you have such yearnings, and at the beginning they surveyed me about my experience with alcohol and opioid dependency. I’ve had both, obviously. Alcohol in my younger […]
Surprise ending (and new beginnings): What happened during my final ketamine session
Read Sober Psychonaut disclaimer for people in sobriety exploring psychedelic medicine My friend Cory who is something of an expert in psilocybin (“magic mushrooms”) for depression, reminded me about the critical work of integration between sessions. I have to admit I’ve only attended one integration circle with a handful of other Mindbloom participants. I found it useful but […]
The best things I’ve gotten from trying psychedelic medicine
Read Sober Psychonaut disclaimer for people in sobriety exploring psychedelic medicine It all started last summer when I responded to an ad for ketamine for depression with clinical therapists, all guided and overseen but from the comfort of home. Better yet, it was reasonably affordable. The cost of a six-session ketamine therapy program through Mindbloom is $386 x […]
Pain⏤and how ketamine showed me something new about it
Read Sober Psychonaut disclaimer for people in sobriety exploring psychedelic medicine At the moment, I am: Tired Weary Resigned In pain Anxious Resistant I can accept that all of that is just “life” creeping in, as it does. But I’ve been feeling it for a few weeks and questioning whether ketamine for depression is really going […]
Ketamine: Is it just a drug experience or does the drug provide the experience needed?
Read Sober Psychonaut disclaimer for people in sobriety exploring psychedelic medicine. I was curious about this question, posed in Michael Pollan’s How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence. When you take ketamine or psilocybin or ecstasy or LSD or whatever it is in […]
Tips for set and setting for ketamine session
Read Sober Psychonaut disclaimer for people in sobriety exploring psychedelic medicine. The mindset video for session 3 of my Mindbloom ketamine therapy reminded me of the importance of set and setting. Here are a few tips for set and setting for ketamine sessions: You definitely don’t want to go into your ketamine session feeling rushed or […]
Surprising burst of energy and joy after ketamine session
Read Sober Psychonaut disclaimer for people in sobriety exploring psychedelic medicine. I felt a surprising burst of energy and joy after ketamine session number four. Saturday afternoon after my morning ketamine session, I spent hours in bed writing and working on my website and wasn’t tired or lethargic but relaxed and at ease. At 5 pm […]