What to Do After Ketamine Treatment: Aftercare Tips From Our Care Team
Proper aftercare with ketamine treatment is important. The hours and days immediately following therapy should include plenty of relaxation, inactivity, and meditation. This period allows patients to recover and determine the best course of action in their wellness journey.
In this article, we’ll provide our recommendations for self-care and maintaining success while receiving ketamine therapy. Hopefully, with our guidance, you feel equipped and ready to approach stress and anxiety head-on!
Understanding the Days After Ketamine Treatment
Unlike traditional mental health treatments, ketamine infusions and esketamine immediately affect the brain by forming new neural pathways. While psychotherapy and medication are still pivotal for many patients, ketamine offers an additional avenue to achieving long-term symptom relief and, for some, remission.
Ketamine also offers many patients the opportunity to revisit past traumas or negative events, allowing them to identify unhealthy self-beliefs, habits, and perceptions. They can then consider how to manage these challenges during the integration process. These changes are also critical for supporting continuous mental and emotional well-being.
Before delving into aftercare advice, let’s quickly review the phases of recovery and acclamation that occur within the days after ketamine treatment.
Below are the stages of aftercare with ketamine therapy:
- Immediately after sessions: Your mind and body need time to recharge after each appointment. You may experience some mild side effects after sessions, such as nausea, drowsiness, or disorientation.
- Integration: This stage is pivotal for successful treatment. During this time, patients apply valuable insights from their trips to their daily lives.
- Maintenance: The positive effects of ketamine are prolonged with personal efforts. Maintenance refers to the actions patients take to improve their lives outside therapy.
Our Guide to What to Do After Ketamine Infusions
Everyone responds to ketamine differently–your recovery will differ significantly from that of any other patient. Nonetheless, the first few days after an appointment can be tiresome and even confusing for patients.
Coping with newly surfaced emotions and memories requires ample self-care, nurturing, and rest. Then, you can seek ways to integrate what you’ve learned about yourself into your life and address core issues affecting your well-being.
Whether you’re new to ketamine treatment or have had multiple sessions, the tips below can help guide you in making healthy choices following your appointment.
Directly After Ketamine Infusions
The first day after your treatment should center on self-care and calm contemplation. Ketamine therapy elicits unique, individualized experiences to help facilitate healing. While influential for self-development, coping with these deep feelings can be emotionally exhausting. Ketamine also triggers dormant neurons and reorganizes neural activity, further showcasing the need for relaxation and recovery after each session.
Prop your feet up, enjoy your favorite hot beverage, and tucker down for the evening. View this period as specifically for you. Do whatever makes you feel comfortable and provides a sense of stillness.
Manage Possible Side Effects
Ketamine therapy can produce mild side effects for some patients. When receiving treatment for the first time, be mindful of how your body responds. You may experience a decreased appetite, nausea, headaches, or feel “disconnected” from your body. These reactions are generally short-lived and will likely resolve within a few hours.
Nevertheless, always inform your provider overseeing your ketamine treatments about any side effects experienced. They can offer suggestions about how to manage or mitigate discomfort. Aside from seeking medical advice, staying hydrated, sleeping, taking a warm bath, or eating a nutritious meal may help relieve minor physical upset.
Get Plenty of Rest
As mentioned above, rest is a necessary aspect of the ketamine recovery process. Prioritize adequate sleep and reduce physical activity to simple exercises like walking or spending time in nature. If you must tend to parental or similar responsibilities, keep things slow and pace yourself. However, express your need for some alone time or request support from loved ones if available.
Practice Relaxation Techniques
In some cases, ketamine can bring past traumas to the surface to allow processing. While beneficial, this experience can be uncomfortable. Those who struggle with this effect can practice relaxation techniques that instantaneously calm the body and mind.
For example, various breathing and meditation techniques are effective for easing anxiety. Sometimes, simply focusing on your surroundings can help ground you and provide mental clarity. Of course, responses vary from person to person, so find what works best for you.
Prioritize Self-Care
Self-care doesn’t need to be complicated! Any positive activities that promote rejuvenation fit the criteria. However, you should primarily focus on those involving as little physical movement as possible on the first day after a ketamine session.
Like relaxation techniques, some patients enjoy incorporating silent mindfulness into their self-care routine. Reading a book, watching a movie, unwinding by a fire, or painting are additional great examples. Regardless of your preferences, self-care is essential for not only ketamine aftercare but also daily living.
During the Integration Phase
Integration is arguably the most critical component of ketamine therapy. During this phase, you’ll examine and translate new insights to incorporate into your long-term plan. Just remember to honor your need for self-reflection, and always treat yourself with kindness.
Reflect on Your Experience
Spend this time clarifying and adding meaning to your experience. What new revelations did you gain? Did you have an “aha moment” about a particular event or trigger? How did your treatment affect your self-perception?
Use this wisdom to guide your decision-making moving forward. Ask yourself what changes you must make to achieve your goals and develop as an individual. Start small, taking baby steps until you feel comfortable tackling larger obstacles.
Practice Self-Compassion & Patience
Healing takes time–you cannot expect to be an entirely new person after one ketamine session. Be patient with yourself throughout this process. Enacting change is hard, and adjusting to different beliefs, ideologies, and emotions may feel overwhelming sometimes.
Take a step back and challenge negative thoughts when they arise. Remind yourself of your worth. You deserve to find happiness and hope! Utilize positive affirmations, grounding techniques, and mindfulness when stress seems insurmountable. You can get through these difficult times!
During the Maintenance Phase
Change can only take place when you follow through on the strides made throughout treatment. Achieving remission is possible for many patients, but not without taking an eager and sincere role in recovery. Being mindful of your decisions lays the foundation for lasting, lifelong prosperity.
Below are our suggestions for maintaining the positive effects of ketamine treatment:
Make Necessary Lifestyle Changes
Your success outside therapy depends on your active role in recovery. You cannot find symptom remission without addressing the factors contributing to distress. While you cannot completely eliminate stress, you can take steps to reduce exposure to triggers or change unhealthy habits. With time, you’ll find these improvements can help bring harmony to your life.
Here are some examples of positive lifestyle changes to extend the effects of ketamine therapy:
- Getting enough sleep
- Keeping a healthy diet
- Ending toxic relationships
- Expanding your support system
- Fostering new friendships
- Finding a nurturing hobby
- Pursuing new career opportunities
- Creating a healthier home environment (if possible)
- Reaching out for help when needed
Regularly Maintain Other Forms of Treatment
Why do you feel better when receiving mental health treatment? The answer is simple–because the therapy is working!
Keep up with other physical and mental care outside your ketamine therapy. Take prescribed medications as directed by your physician, continue attending individual psychotherapy sessions, and schedule medical appointments as needed. Alongside ketamine, these positive practices help further boost improvements and solidify progress.
Don’t Overlook Your Physical Health
Physical, mental, and emotional health are intertwined. When one is unbalanced, feeling at your best is impossible. Purposefully engaging your body boosts overall well-being, whether by dancing, walking, swimming, hiking, or anything in between. Even a brief stretching session is worthwhile–you don’t need to break a sweat to reap the benefits.
Here are just a few reasons why physical activity is important when receiving ketamine treatment:
- Improved stress tolerance
- Lowered blood pressure
- Boosted self-confidence
- Time to connect with nature
- Reduced anger, anxiety, and depression
- Enhanced sleep quality
- Better outlook on life
Find a Community
Joining a group of individuals with similar life experiences who share in your ketamine journey can significantly boost your support system. Consider finding an in-person or online community where you can discuss challenges and celebrate achievements without fear of judgment.
These resources can be even more pivotal for those without an established network of trusted loved ones. Here, you can create a family where mutual encouragement and accountability take precedence. Knowing you can rely on someone when facing anxiety, depression, or distress can provide the emotional freedom necessary to achieve lasting relief.
Find Ways to Enhance the Lives of Others
Sustaining your well-being through lifestyle changes and healthy decision-making is invaluable. Still, supporting others can further enhance positive worldviews, self-perception, and relationships.
One way to continue your wellness journey is by volunteering. Giving back to your community provides a sense of belonging, helping fight depressive symptoms and isolation. You have the chance to connect with neighbors and establish a local network of encouraging, caring individuals.
Volunteering can be as simple as spending a few hours at a soup kitchen, animal shelter, or daycare. Nature enthusiasts can also explore outdoor opportunities, such as park preservation or community gardening. No matter your availability or resources, finding a space where you feel safe and appreciated can be enlightening.
FAQs About Ketamine Therapy Aftercare
You likely have additional questions about returning to daily life after ketamine treatments, especially if you’re a new patient. In general, we suggest planning ways to postpone responsibilities until the next day and making arrangements for additional support if needed.
Here are a few answers to some commonly asked questions:
Can You Drive After Ketamine Therapy?
Ketamine is known to cause sedation and dissociation. Additionally, some patients have also reported blurred vision, confusion, and poor coordination. These effects can significantly impair the ability to operate any machinery, especially a vehicle.
Attempting to focus on the road while recovering from ketamine can increase the risk of accidents, injury, and safety. For this reason, patients should ensure they have reliable transportation to and from ketamine treatment. They should also refrain from driving for the remainder of the day.
Can You Work After a Ketamine Infusion?
As with driving, you should avoid working after receiving ketamine treatment. When possible, preserve the hours following a session for contemplation and reflection. Doing so helps encourage the positive integration of your experiences. Focusing on other things can potentially limit this process.
Do not operate machinery or make important decisions, as your judgment and concentration may be impaired. Managing simple activities, such as typing, filing, or similar administrative tasks, is generally okay if you must return to work. However, listen to your body and follow your own pace.
Can You Eat or Drink After Ketamine Treatment?
Eating after receiving ketamine is perfectly okay, as long as you feel comfortable. Consider sticking with light snacks and meals that won’t upset your stomach. Some suggestions include fruit, yogurt, whole grains, or fresh vegetables. Of course, these choices will depend on your personal preferences and dietary needs.
Do not drink alcoholic beverages before and after your treatment. Alcohol is a depressant that affects judgment, cognitive functions, and coordination. When combined with ketamine, the effects of both substances are magnified, potentially resulting in additional safety concerns.
Let New Pathways Be Your Aftercare Guide
Our team of caring providers is ready to assist in your pursuit of building a better life for yourself. We provide a safe space to develop self-awareness and perception to drive you toward healing. We’ll also happily answer any questions you may have about ketamine therapy, so please reach out to us for support. Relief is possible with the right care.
Interested in a free consultation? If you’d like to pursue this journey, we have locations in Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati.