As beautiful as this story is, I would also like to mention the numerous friends that I have that have unfortunately become extremely addicted to the drug due to this serenity. For many this feeling does not stay and must be chased with more and more K.
Additionally, when in full possession of the knowledge of how terrible depression is, and knowing that for some people, using ketamine every day or few days is the only thing that works against their treatment-resistant depression, "the only known treatment for a life-endingly debilitating disease" and "functional addiction" are completely indistinguishable.
This happened to the closest person to me in my life, and it destroyed everything we'd worked to build together.
Fuck depression.
There are drugs like GLYX-13 which is somewhat related to ketamine which works very similarly, but without the psychedelic effects (but presumably _with_ the antidepressant effects). I have high hopes that we'll knock out depression within our generation.
> I have high hopes that we'll knock out depression within our generation.
Maybe, but depression is like cancer--a general classification with many many underlying causes. The fact that SSRIs, MAOIs and other medications reliable treat many people, and provide zero benefit to other chronic sufferers, suggest many root causes, and no single answer. I'm sure in the years ahead progress will be made, but I'm pessimistic having tried just about everything for the last 30 years with never a positive effect. I'm 45 and have never _not_ suffered from depression.
