Ketamine lifts depression via a byproduct of its metabolism
The recent emergence of studies suggesting psychedelics as a novel means of treating depression and other mental illnesses is a double-edged blade: the sheer capability of drugs like LSD and psilocybin and ketamine to hard-reset the brain&#x27;s pathways is a huge leap from the accepted style of treatment that often boils down to &quot;Take these pills, check in each week, maybe you&#x27;ll feel better in a month or two.&quot;<p>However, it also gives people the false impression that all they need to do is chew on some shrooms and listen to the Grateful Dead for a couple of hours and suddenly they will be free of all addiction and depression forever.<p>Every time a study like this comes out there is a predictable pattern in patients&#x27; depression scores: immediately after psychedelic treatment, depression signs plunge, wade around the low end for a while, then steadily creep back up.<p>With the exception of people whose brains simply do not work as they should (I have a friend who is chronically depressed because his body can&#x27;t produce enough serotonin even with antidepressants), depression is often as influenced by external factors as internal ones. A spectacular drug trip won&#x27;t change the reality of having a death in the family, not being able to find a job after being laid off at 45, or simply the stress of the modern, always-on world.<p>Discoveries like these are always helpful towards understanding the brain and how to formulate effective treatment, but in the end, mental health will always be vastly more complex and harder to cure than any physical ailment. There will never be anything close to an ibuprofen for the brain.