The Crying is Back

I started crying again. I felt like things were better, less triggered, no recollection of panic attacks since starting ketamine treatments. Then the tears came back and I feared I was regressing. Yet neurologically and physiologically these are two different states. Prior to ketamine I was in a collapsed state, dorsal vagal shutdown, where the nervous system believes survival is threatened and escape or repair isn’t possible. In this state the crying was uncontrollable and got to be constant. The hopelessness felt absolute and permanent. I am told I'm in a nervous system that is still wounded, still grieving, but no longer trapped in the same physiological prison. Ketamine restores flexibility to neural networks. That means emotions that were previously frozen or buried can move.

"Doesn't that sound nice? Now you can cry and let it out and heal!" No one said these exact words to me, but I've heard many versions of it. I don't have any expectation of "healing", as I don't believe we can heal from everything. There feels like an expectation of those looking on from the outside, that "healing" is an actual achievable goal, and if you don't then it's your fault. Though the intentions are good, it's not helpful. 

Since things appeared to be going well, when the tears came back I was crushed and scared. My mother had sent a picture of a snowfall through a family text chain. My brother replied with a picture from the ocean saying he had a better view. This brother is also a therapist, who I reached out to when I was trying to get into intensive outpatient. He knew I was suicidal and going down hard. He doesn't know I'm now doing ketamine as he hasn't reached out at all to see how I am doing. He also got engaged over Christmas and is traveling the world with his fiancé. I am still unemployed, alone, and my one big goal when I got divorced was to travel and just an hour before this text I'd downgraded my Sky Miles Amex as I've lost flight status and can't afford to go anywhere. The comparison, looking at what I want yet just never happens for me, seeing a life I'd long for, it all just took me out. 

First thoughts were that I couldn't go through this again. I thought of the months in collapse where I'd be screaming and sobbing, and it nearly ended me. But the crying did stop this time. I saw that though painful, I got back to my level set depression state and kept going. 

I've wiped the tears once again. And I'll go on. But I'm so fucking tired of trying and living in this pain.