12 Healthy Lifestyle Changes I Need to Make Before Ketamine Therapy Starts in 12 Days
Counting down the days before the treatment that could save my life
On most days when you don’t receive any new content from God of the Desert Books’ Substack it’s a pretty safe assumption that the reason for that is I’m feeling so terrible with my PTSD symptoms that I cannot write something myself, edit another writer’s story, or think clearly enough to record a podcast. That was the case the last two days, which were among the worst I’ve experienced since the onset of my PTSD symptoms almost a year ago.
I’m feeling a bit better this morning, though, enough to be able to look more to the future, or at least the near future. As I mentioned over the weekend in my previous post explaining why PTSD advocacy would be so important to this publication and publishing house, on August 29 I will begin Ketamine Infusion Therapy in Palm Springs. This will be the first of 6 treatments that will run through September 19, which, if all goes as it should, will “reset” my body and mind, relieving me of the hyperarousal of my senses and the intense suicidal ideation crippling my mind and spirit.
To prepare for the treatments and then during them I am supposed to follow a series of 12 changes in lifestyle, some of which I’ve found more intimidating than others, but will begin this week in earnest to shift toward. I’m going to share them and blog about them here at GOTD and thought others might find the points useful to consider for themselves as these are largely just general good advice for how to live:
A whole food, plant-based diet
Eat organic fruits and vegetables and avoid the “dirty dozen” - fruits and vegetables with heavy pesticides
Avoid violent and dark art and pornography; replace with spiritual texts, poetry, and inspirational art.
Meditate daily, sitting still for 3-20 minutes
Daily exercise, which could include light walking or yoga
Keep a daily journal featuring unedited thoughts.
Reduce caffeine, switching to decaf coffee or green tea
Reduce tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana
Drink lots of water
Cut down on screen time, especially on news and social media
Increase time with family and friends who are a positive influence
Spend more time in nature and appreciating the outdoors
Now, a number of these items I’ve already found beneficial for reducing my PTSD symptoms. In particular:
My stomach for dark and disturbing films has diminished tremendously. I’ve consciously sought to avoid movies or TV shows that may hit me more intensely than I can handle. This hasn’t always worked. Sometimes even benign Disney or Pixar films will get the waterworks going these days. (I really did not expect to cry as much as I did over “Toy Story 4”!)
Meditation and exercise do help quite a bit - and trying to make a more daily habit of it will help more. I haven’t because my days and energy have simply been so unpredictable.
I’ve kept a journal for over 25 years now - going back to fifth grade. However, daily entries will be more effort.
I love my coffee and energy drinks and at times have really needed them to compensate for my diminished energy. But at other times I’ve almost been afraid of them - worried that the caffeine could agitate me and provoke a panic attack. Thus, I’ve primarily shifted to decaf, with occasional indulgences.
I’ve been an advocate for medicinal marijuana for over a decade now, deeply appreciating and utilizing California’s “liberal” laws on the subject. It’s really helped me for years and has helped me cope with my PTSD symptoms. However, it’s simply not enough anymore with how severe my symptoms are. When I’m hyperaroused, smoking is simply not practical - I now cough too easily, and consuming it through “vaping” does not provide enough relief. Edible marijuana products can be helpful but I still have yet to figure out proper dosing, having found that I’m usually getting a Father Bear or Mother Bear dose - either not enough for an effect or so much that it makes me too tired to function. So I guess for now it’s time to try other possibilities.
Cutting down on news and social media is especially difficult for me given that both worlds are essentially my profession, however I have sought to cut back and to try to emotionally disconnect more from some of the terrible political stories happening right now. In particular, I’m trying not to get overly upset about the moral disintegrations of the Republican Party and conservative movement, causes which I dedicated years of my life to promoting, only to see them conquered by an embarrassing con artist who has to pay women to have sex with him and then pay them not to talk about it.
I’ve been trying to reconnect much more with family and friends for emotional support. My parents in particular have really stepped up recently and have been crucial in my quest to get healthy again. But there have been other friends too who have really blown me away with their love and support, three that especially come to mind are the authors I’ll be publishing this fall and next year, GOTD’s senior columnists Tom Cosentino, Alec Ott, and Fred Tribuzzo. My fiancee and business partner, GOTD’s managing editor Sally Shideler, has also been critical in keeping me alive with her love.
Nature has been so critical. Moving out here to the desert and finding these 25 acres has helped so much. Wandering around at sunset with our puppy Jasmine following close by has been so wonderful. Here’s a sunset shot I took last night:
So what will be the biggest changes then? DIET!
As the PTSD has intensified everything, one of the other negative effects has been an increased intensity for the eating disorder which has afflicted me the last decade. I have chronic nausea and a general aversion to eating, a result of coming off of some strong medication back in 2007-2008. Given how difficult eating in general is, I’ve tried to simply eat (and more often drink) what comes easiest - which is often junk. I love my sodas, fast food, and way-too-heavily processed packaged crap. But it’s time to say goodbye to all that for now so I can get back to being able to function, write what I need to write, and publish the books I need to publish.
Anybody have any tips or advice as I pursue this healthier path before, during, and (hopefully) after my treatments? Any whole, plant-based foods I should explore?
HI David. I went through the lifestyle list, thinking about how I might implement for myself—so this is not advice—I do not have the gall to tell you what you should do.
On the physical side, the diet items would also be the most difficult for me. I see that it’s about our inputs—eating better foods, drinking more water—can’t object to that. I can see cutting out junk food and cutting down on meat and processed foods. I can’t see why eating fish, for example, could not continue. I think the “reduce” items are good as they are. For example, if I were to go off coffee completely, that will make me and those around me miserable. (I’m told that every Lent, when I’m considering what to give up.) The daily exercise, getting out into nature (and meditation) blend well together.
On the “spiritual” side of things, these are all about avoiding the spiritual pollutants. I couldn’t agree more with avoiding and cutting down on screen time/social media. I am going to try the “for business purposes only“ approach. No aimless scrolling. I already avoid “dark art” and pornography—I tell my kids it’s like swimming in sewage. It will leave a smell on you when you get out.
Daily meditation and the journal are beneficial, but need some focus, I think. Prayer and some spiritual reading prior to meditating would help me stay focused. I think the journal is interesting. I’ve never done that, but I should. Perhaps part of it could be a daily examination of conscience—where did I fail, what do I need to do to repair, what can I do to improve?
I look forward to watching your progress on these, and praying for your success.