Discover more from Depresh Mode
Good News on Ketamine Efficacy, Bad News For Veterans and Chalamet Impersonators
And good news, I guess, if you don't know why you're so scattered. It's because you're depressed!
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Not good: veterans are getting VA mental health appointments cancelled without explanation
An informative topic this week that needs some attention.
Yeah, a lot of times on our show, we talk about the personal experiences of people dealing with mental health issues. And that’s important, that’s why we do it so dang much. But a big part of the mental health universe is the often aggravating world of logistics and executive functioning. Scheduling appointments, dealing with insurance, putting up with all the hassle, that’s all part of having a mental health condition in America today.
Unfortunately, says our guest, reporter Patricia Kime from Military.com, a lot of military veterans are finding their appointments canceled without warning or explanation. And then! After the appointments are called off, the veterans themselves are getting blamed for it. It’s a terrible thing that’s happening to people who made tremendous sacrifices and should be taken care of.
So why is this happening? Well, we’re not sure. One of the reasons might be politics. Conservative and libertarian think tanks are taking a strong interest in the topic and on reporting about it but these same organizations have taken a position that the VA is too large, too cumbersome, and that its functions could be better served by the private sector.
Wandering mind? You could be depressed. Depressed? You could have a wandering mind.
The two go together like peanut butter and jelly. Or jelly and forgetfulness. New research indicates that people with major depressive disorder are twice as likely to have scattered, wandering thoughts.
Mind wandering is the spontaneous shift of attention away from a current task or external environment to internal thoughts or daydreams. It typically occurs when people are engaged in routine or low-demand activities. During mind wandering, people think about their past, future, or unrelated topics. Mind wandering can foster creativity and problem-solving, but frequent or excessive mind wandering has been linked to negative outcomes, including rumination and poor emotional regulation.
In individuals with depression, mind wandering tends to focus on negative thoughts, regrets, or worries, contributing to a persistently low mood and feelings of hopelessness. Studies suggest that people with depression experience more frequent and uncontrollable mind wandering, which can exacerbate symptoms. This tendency to ruminate increases cognitive load and interferes with concentration and productivity.
How does this information help you? Well, if you’ve got that wandering mind, maybe you have a disorder that can be treated and your brain can stay on task a little more. And that’s certainly better than just feeling like it’s all your fault.
Fast-acting ketamine could relieve depression symptoms in a matter of minutes or hours
Prescription meds are great. Or can be great. But often, the line you hear is that you might notice a positive result in a few weeks. Positive results are wonderful. Waiting for weeks and wondering if anything will change? Not so wonderful.
New research into carefully controlled administration of ketamine has a lot of people pretty excited (and not because those people took ketamine themselves).
RR-HNK revealed itself to be exceptionally safe, causing no serious adverse events and only mild side effects that resolved quickly without care. Participants also reported no symptoms of sedation or dissociation. The positive safety profile was maintained at all doses tested and after multiple doses. Together, the results indicate that RR-HNK is safe and tolerable, with limited abuse or misuse potential.
Cerebrospinal fluid confirmed that RR-HNK entered the brain and remained at detectable levels several hours after administration. Results further showed a dose-proportional response to the medication, meaning that at higher levels of RR-HNK, the amount of the substance in the body also increased at the same rate. A predictable relationship between the amount of RR-HNK given and the amount of RR-HNK in the bloodstream is important for the clinical efficacy of the medication, allowing doctors and researchers to accurately calibrate doses to a person’s specific level and type of symptoms.
Celebrity lookalikes who are actually the celebrities they’re trying to look like
Timothée Chalamet recently entered a contest full of people trying to look like him. He was spotted and it looks like everyone had a great time, except for when the cops showed up to break it all up.
He joins a tradition that includes Adele:
and Jewel:
Dan McCoy on Sleeping with Celebrities
If you love movies, especially if you love movies that tried their hardest but were comically unsuccessful, you may already know Dan McCoy as one of the hosts of Maximum Fun’s podcast, The Flop House. Besides being a film buff, Dan’s a former writer on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and an enthusiastic fan of Disney’s Uncle Scrooge McDuck, the wealthiest duck in the world. Dan shares his well-modulated fandom for the arcana and the minutiae of Uncle Scrooge and soon it’s like you’re sleeping in a mountain of gold coins.
I had immediate results with ketamine infusions but for me it stopped working after 6 weeks.