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Natural Awakenings Naples and Fort Myers

Psychedelic Documentary Stirs Therapeutic Discussion

Aug 30, 2022 05:08PM ● By Linda Sechrist

The term “psychedelic” was first coined by the British psychiatrist Humphry Osmond in a 1956 letter to his friend Aldous Huxley, who wrote Doors of Perception. Osmond was one of the most important and influential figures regarding the study of psychedelics in the 1950s, prior to their ban. Criminalized in 1968 in the U.S. and made fully illegal under the Controlled Substances Act in 1970, many countries, including the U.S., funded massive numbers of research studies into the benefits of psychedelics on mental health, and many still are.


Now Michael Pollan’s 2018 book, How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence, has been turned into an eponymous Netflix docuseries. In it, the author explores not only the history of psychedelic use and research, but also new and emerging studies into the use of psilocybin, LSD, ketamine, MDMA and other psychedelics for therapeutic reasons. The docuseries is reopening the discussion surrounding therapeutic psychedelics.


At MY Self Wellness, in Bonita Springs, home to a network of loving and conscious practitioners that help empower and assist individuals in unblocking their natural healing energies with the use of ketamine therapy, “People are transcending their traumas and letting go of obstacles on every level of physical, psychological and spiritual blockages,” says Charles Patti, chief education officer and brand ambassador.


“One of the most talked-about benefits of ketamine for treating anxiety disorder is how quickly it works in helping remedy many of the unwanted symptoms. Unlike many other anxiety treatment options that take weeks or months to feel a difference, the effects of ketamine therapy can be felt within a few hours of the first treatment,” advises Christina Thomas, MY Self Awareness president and founder.


Referred to as the biggest breakthrough in mental health treatment in more than 50 years, ketamine-assisted therapy is considered the safest and quickest path to seeing past traumas from a new perspective. Ketamine has been a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved general anesthetic used in hospitals and other medical settings since the 1970s. It physically remaps and restructures the neural pathways in the brain, enabling neuroplasticity, or new neuron connections in the brain, and turns on receptors there which create dopamine. Now widely being used to treat depression, ketamine also binds to receptors in the brain that increase the amount of the neurotransmitter glutamate that is released. This sets off a chain of reactions within the brain which affects thinking and emotional regulation.


In simple terms, the brain reacts to ketamine in a way that triggers hormones that help create feel-good emotions. This effect occurs quickly after a person receives their treatment, but some people may need several treatments before they experience the highest level of benefits. There is a connection between healing our trauma and rewiring our nervous system. Psychedelics can be a useful tool when done in a safe setting and incorporating integrative practices that assist the individual long-term. The journey is not in the medicine, but where it takes what we have experienced and brings it into daily practice.


Ketamine therapy, a fast-acting alternative treatment method for individuals that have not had success with other forms of post-traumatic stress disorder treatment and medications, is also useful as a treatment for acute and chronic pain related to back, neck or spine conditions. “A ketamine infusion could offer significant pain relief. In addition to relieving chronic pain conditions, we use ketamine infusions to help treat sleep issues and obsessive-compulsive disorder, as well as alcohol or drug abuse. Unfortunately, some people suffering from chronic pain grow dependent on their pain medication and will need to take more and more each time to feel relief.


“I tell clients that ketamine is an excellent tool for meditation. It calms the mind and shuts down the thinking process. You can achieve in an hour what it takes a Buddhist monk years of meditation to achieve. We are very much about a personal touch and holding our client’s hand through their wellness journey. In our beautiful facility, which has a very soothing ambiance, we combine the healing benefits of ketamine with new lifestyle practices for a full mental reset. We help you get back to wellness so you can live a happy and joy-filled life again. If you are looking to create real transformation in your life, MY Self Wellness can help you heal your inner world so that your outer world falls into place. This isn’t just about mental health. This is about taking you to the next level of your life,” explains Patti.


MY Self Wellness is located at 3541 Bonita Bay Blvd., Ste. 200, in Bonita Springs. For more information, call 239-908-9958 or visit MySelfWellness.center.