Psychedelic Medicine
A New Paradigm for Healing
A New Therapeutic Paradigm for Healing
We are facing an unprecedented mental health crisis
Many communities around the world are showing signs of serious mental health issues. There are growing numbers of 'deaths from despair' related to suicide, drug overdoses, and substance abuse.
The World Health Organization has found that 300 million people around the world have depression, which includes 16.2 million adults in the United States. As well as this, almost 50% of those diagnosed with depression are also diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
For many, traditional psychiatric treatments (antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications) create negative side effects. These can include emotional flattening, migraines, loss of libido, weight gain, and insomnia. They have also been linked to higher instances of suicidal ideation. These traditional methods have lacked innovation for decades.
Psychedelic medicine and partnered therapies offer a new treatment paradigm, one of healing rather than masking. So, now may be the time to look into psychedelic-assisted therapy with our team at Daydream MD.
A Promising Tool
What are Psychedelics?
The idea of psychedelic medicine is not new to the medical world.
Most psychedelic medicines are derived from plants, and culturally, these medications have been used by indigenous cultures in spiritual ceremonies with the aim of a long-term effect on mental health and wellbeing.
When used in a safe environment with proper clinical and medical support, psychedelics can be powerful tools to help treat many mood, somatic, and trauma-based disorders, such as
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depression
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anxiety
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posttraumatic stress disorder
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obsessive-compulsive disorder
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substance abuse disorders
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eating disorders, complex grief states
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fear around death/dying, fibromyalgia
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complex regional pain syndrome
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autoimmune disorders
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postpartum depression
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peri/menopause complications
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assistance with tapering off psychotropics
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complex pain, and other ailments of the soul.
At Daydream MD, we use psychedelic medicine as part of assisted therapy or as a ketamine infusion. Our San Diego-based ketamine location helps with the management of treatment-resistant depression by inducing a dissociative state. Researchers suggest via clinical trials that this allows our patients to explore their deepest fears and trauma without being emotionally triggered. This enables our team at Daydream MD to explore these issues with our patients. This is known as psychedelic therapy, which is helpful for helping people who have treatment-resistant issues to overcome them.
At this stage, you may be wondering what psychedelics are. Psychedelics are any drug or controlled substances that create a hallucinogenic experience are labeled as a psychedelic substance.
For instance, salvia divinorum could be considered a psychedelic medicine, but it does not have the legal status of some of the other psychedelic experience-promoting drugs, such as ketamine.
Psychedelic therapy, to be successful, also has to have an emotional dissociative effect, which is where the use of a ketamine treatment comes in, as it allows patients to emotionally detach, allowing therapy to proceed quickly and easily. So, when it comes to what to expect with ketamine therapy, this is a core part.
While many psychedelic medications, such as MDMA-assisted treatments and other hallucinogenic drugs like psilocybin, are in clinical trials at the present time, with the aim of future medical use and legalization. In the US, a ketamine experience is the only option prescribed legally for the off-label treatment of depression and other mood disorders like anxiety, PTSD, and OCD.
Psychedelics are the Future
We are facing an emotional distress epidemic, and psychedelics show promise in potentially revolutionizing the way mental healthcare is delivered.
Are Psychedelics, a New Class of Medicines?
Many people have stated that psychiatry and mental health have been lagging, especially in recent times, compared to other sciences. Changes and breakthroughs in mental health medications have been lacking, even though, for a long time, there has been a range of psychotropic medications available, which is where psychedelic medicine and ketamine therapy experiences come in.
Classic psychedelic medications have been used for mental health issues before they were placed on Schedule I drugs by the DEA. This is a list of substances and chemicals that are legally classified as drugs but have no current medical use, as well as a high abuse potential. However, one of the most common FAQs we receive from our clients is related to the potential for abuse of our psychedelic medication, which is actually very low. Yet, psychedelics have a demonstrably low potential for abuse, as evidenced by the chart below.
Additionally, psychedelics have a track record of safe usage in indigenous communities, where they have been used for centuries to aid in mental health issues and promote wellbeing.
At Daydream MD, we aim to promote a similar well-being at our center for psychedelic medicine and the integration of psychedelics for the treatment of mental health issues.
New frontiers of research have been opened in search of medications that can help provide a fast, simple, and effective treatment for mental health issues. This is where psychedelic medicines are at the forefront, and in 2023, many of the clinical trials into new medications include psychedelics.
In parallel, a wave of decriminalization has already begun, with states such as Oregon and Colorado embracing psychedelics for use in healing. Psychedelics have the potential to treat dysfunction from acute and chronic mental illness and help individuals deepen their mental health and sense of wellness. They have the potential for an interventional approach to rapidly relieve distress from various causes and help maintain mental resilience and flexibility.
Listed below are three examples of applications of psychedelics,
1. Anxiety/Depression/OCD
Psilocybin (the active compound in “magic” mushrooms) has shown great promise in treating depression, anxiety, and OCD.
2. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy or molly, is perhaps the closest psychedelic compound to legalization for therapy, with Phase III clinical trials showing marked efficacy in treating PTSD when combined with therapy. MDMA is anticipated to be approved for medical use by the FDA by Fall 2024.
3. Addiction
Psilocybin and Ibogaine have been used extensively in countries where their use is legal to treat alcoholism and opiate addiction, respectively.
Our Range of Psychedelic Services
When choosing our services at Daydream MD, you will likely have questions about what are psychedelics or ketamine treatments, what to expect, and how they can help with your depression.
At Daydream MD, we offer a more comprehensive range of services than just using ketamine infusion treatments to treat depression and will devise a treatment plan to treat your depression.
We also offer ketamine-infused therapy to treat anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other enduring mental health issues that our clients may be struggling with.
So, if you have received a diagnosis of any of these and it has failed to respond to conventional treatments, or you’d like to investigate using this type of method to heal trauma you’ve experienced in your life, please call our team at Daydream MD for a consultation to have a ketamine experience with our ketamine infusions.
If you’re still investigating, we’ve compiled a list of our different ketamine treatments, psychotherapy, integrative coaching, and wellness services for further research to help inform your decision and path towards improved wellness.
Daydream MD Explanation of Services
At Daydream MD, our team is at the core of what we do and the ketamine treatment offered in San Diego.
Our CEO and founder, Dr. Arsalan Azam, is a board-certified emergency medicine physician and is our medical director. He completed his rotations at the Cleveland Clinic and oversaw many mental health emergencies using traditional medicine, which is what prompted him to look into alternative medicines.
Next, we have Lisa McJunkin, Daydream MD’s Chief Operating Officer, who is a California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who has been practicing across California since 2011 and helped build Sharp’s Healthcare Trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress program.
We also have a nursing team led by Sam Schulze, the Director, and Jammie Whittaker, the Director of Member Relations. Click to meet the rest of our compassionate, kind, and talented leadership team.