You finished a ketamine infusion session, and you feel triggered, sensitive, anxious, or depressed. It’s frustrating because this treatment was supposed to make you better now you’re feeling awful, maybe worse than before the process began. As counterintuitive as it sounds though – in fact, that is a sign of progress!
Emotional Trash Compacting
Many of us hid from our emotions, and thus we suffer. We never really allow ourselves to feel the full effects of the traumas that have happened to us. Many of us were taught to pull ourselves up from our bootstraps and move forward, and that emotions were a sign of weakness, and that we should be able to “get over it.” This is called emotional expression or emotional trash compacting.
After years or decades of this, we become weighed down by everything we have never been allowed to process. This emotional constipation stops us from connecting with ourselves and those we love. It also increases our anxiety, depression, OCD, or other mental health issues until we decide we are ready for a change.
Feel It to Heal It
So we know what we have been doing is no longer working, and that is what has brought you to Illumma, but why does it feel so hard? Because you have to actually allow yourself to FEEL everything you haven’t been able to, and that can be uncomfortable.
One of the ketamine’s superpowers is emotional unpacking. This is a mechanism that brings up emotions so that your nervous system can finally process them. This means that you may feel things very deeply in the midst of your series. For many, this happens in the middle of the series around infusions 2-4.
You can feel something specific like grief, rage, sadness, shames, or you can feel deeply without an ability to pinpoint what is coming up. Instead of thinking this is a bad sign, it should be embraced as a huge indication that healing is happening.
Moving Through & On
When you are experiencing a low, there are several ways to cope. Reaching out for support is vital, and that is why having an integration coach or therapist is a must. Team Illumma is always here from you but having someone to lean on for comfort and clarity makes all the difference.
They can help you normalize the healing process and share tools and resources to process your emotions, such as breathwork, journaling, and self-care. They can also offer support so that you know you are not alone in the darkness.
You are on a journey, and understanding and accepting the highs and lows is important. Healing is not a linear path, but it will get better over time. Most clients find the emotional release to only last for a few infusions. By the end of their series, over 83% of clients feel a significant reduction in their symptoms, and many feel like their ketamine journey was a turning point in their lives.