What ketamine does to the human brain(theatlantic.com)
theatlantic.com
What ketamine does to the human brain
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2025/03/ketamine-effects-elon-musk/681911/
23 comments
Phencyclidine is just much more potent - it has been used for dissociative anesthesia in the past too.
Memory is only impaired in really end cases of abuse of ketamine. First the ability to learn newcomplex tasks is damaged. Then usually kidneys go. Unlike PCP, wholesale psychosis is rare.
This is though mostly in abusers again, ones going for so called k-holing. Whether Musk does these high doses is a different question. Normally you can spot these people as acting zombie like and having an equivalent of absence seizures, not grandious manic episodes.
Musk might be (self) medicating with a wrong drug for a different mood disorder. Now that is both relatively common and might look exactly like his behavior - a hypomanic shift for example. Ketamine really is meant to be used as an antidepressant for standard depression and only short term...
Memory is only impaired in really end cases of abuse of ketamine. First the ability to learn newcomplex tasks is damaged. Then usually kidneys go. Unlike PCP, wholesale psychosis is rare.
This is though mostly in abusers again, ones going for so called k-holing. Whether Musk does these high doses is a different question. Normally you can spot these people as acting zombie like and having an equivalent of absence seizures, not grandious manic episodes.
Musk might be (self) medicating with a wrong drug for a different mood disorder. Now that is both relatively common and might look exactly like his behavior - a hypomanic shift for example. Ketamine really is meant to be used as an antidepressant for standard depression and only short term...
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Readers might also enjoy "The Ketamine Secrets of ‘Ecco the Dolphin’"
https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-ketamine-secrets-of-sega...
More anecdotes from Mr. Lilly https://www.intuition.org/txt/lilly.htm
MISHLOVE: Perhaps this is a necessary part of everybody's journey, is to go through the epitome of terror.
LILLY: Right. For instance, there's an Iranian psychiatrist, an American psychiatrist, that put a hundred patients in a mental hospital in Iran through what they feared most, on Ketamine, and they all left the hospital. Now, I tried the same thing, after I read that. That evening I took 150 milligrams of Ketamine, and suddenly the Earth Coincidence Control Office removed my penis and handed it to me. I screamed in terror. My wife Toni came running in from the bedroom, and she said, "It's still attached." So I shouted at the ceiling, "Who's in charge up there? A bunch of crazy kids?" The answer came back, "Well, you had an unconscious fear, so we put you through it, just the way the Iranian psychiatrist did."
MISHLOVE: In the realm of the mind, the province of the mind, we can face all our fears.
LILLY: Well, you may not be able to live with it, but you should try it.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-ketamine-secrets-of-sega...
More anecdotes from Mr. Lilly https://www.intuition.org/txt/lilly.htm
MISHLOVE: Perhaps this is a necessary part of everybody's journey, is to go through the epitome of terror.
LILLY: Right. For instance, there's an Iranian psychiatrist, an American psychiatrist, that put a hundred patients in a mental hospital in Iran through what they feared most, on Ketamine, and they all left the hospital. Now, I tried the same thing, after I read that. That evening I took 150 milligrams of Ketamine, and suddenly the Earth Coincidence Control Office removed my penis and handed it to me. I screamed in terror. My wife Toni came running in from the bedroom, and she said, "It's still attached." So I shouted at the ceiling, "Who's in charge up there? A bunch of crazy kids?" The answer came back, "Well, you had an unconscious fear, so we put you through it, just the way the Iranian psychiatrist did."
MISHLOVE: In the realm of the mind, the province of the mind, we can face all our fears.
LILLY: Well, you may not be able to live with it, but you should try it.
Wild ride of an article reminding me why I read the comments more than TFAs.
Oh and nice username lol
Oh and nice username lol
kelseyfrog(3)
I take ketamine 2 to 3 times a year through a clinic. The altered state it puts me in is contemplative and gives me perspective-- I explain to people it's like getting a massage for my mind. I don't feel any pull or draw to abuse it or use it more frequently. YMMV of course.
That said, the article title is very misleading. It's essentially a (very) thinly veiled hit piece on Musk. As if we need more of those on HN. A better title would be "What Ketamine could be doing to Musk's brain, which would explain explain why he's so crazy/evil/nazi -- and why you should continued to be scared/panic/etc"
I can imagine frequent use of any psychedelic (or any drug) being correlated with all sorts of other mental and inhibition issues. That's not new/news.
That said, the article title is very misleading. It's essentially a (very) thinly veiled hit piece on Musk. As if we need more of those on HN. A better title would be "What Ketamine could be doing to Musk's brain, which would explain explain why he's so crazy/evil/nazi -- and why you should continued to be scared/panic/etc"
I can imagine frequent use of any psychedelic (or any drug) being correlated with all sorts of other mental and inhibition issues. That's not new/news.
I agree. You don't need someone's ketamine use to explain why they're a Nazi.
You know who else uses a lot of ketamine? The rave scene, the queer scene, and people treating PTSD. And those are some of the most un-Nazi folks out there.
It's a dissociative drug. It can be used recreationally, it can be used therapeutically, and of course, for medical purposes.
Let's be real. Why is Musk a megalomaniac? Because he is a megalomaniac. The end.
You know who else uses a lot of ketamine? The rave scene, the queer scene, and people treating PTSD. And those are some of the most un-Nazi folks out there.
It's a dissociative drug. It can be used recreationally, it can be used therapeutically, and of course, for medical purposes.
Let's be real. Why is Musk a megalomaniac? Because he is a megalomaniac. The end.
The public impression of him radically changed in recent years, and -- like old friends and family trying to make sense of the person who "became someone else" after getting involved in a dark scene -- people are naturally looking for an understanding that can make sense to them.
I think many of us see the the through line in Musk's story the same way we can see how our friends who spiraled into chaos and self-destruction had always been fragile or angry or hurt or whatever, but for others who were never perceptive or open enough to have seen the already-troubled side of these people, a drug abuse narrative (which often can have truth to it) can help it all become less bewildering.
I think many of us see the the through line in Musk's story the same way we can see how our friends who spiraled into chaos and self-destruction had always been fragile or angry or hurt or whatever, but for others who were never perceptive or open enough to have seen the already-troubled side of these people, a drug abuse narrative (which often can have truth to it) can help it all become less bewildering.
> Let's be real. Why is Musk a megalomaniac? Because he is a megalomaniac. The end.
Why, how, and when did he become a megalomaniac? Was he always this way? Did he start believing his own press at some point?
Body chemistry can affect how one cognates, perceives the world, and reacts to external (and internal) events. Half the world's population undergoes such effects naturally throughout their life:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Female_Brain_(book)
It would not be surprising if folks who alter their brain chemistry without medical supervision may have their (perception of) reality changed due to it.
Why, how, and when did he become a megalomaniac? Was he always this way? Did he start believing his own press at some point?
Body chemistry can affect how one cognates, perceives the world, and reacts to external (and internal) events. Half the world's population undergoes such effects naturally throughout their life:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Female_Brain_(book)
It would not be surprising if folks who alter their brain chemistry without medical supervision may have their (perception of) reality changed due to it.
Because he was abused as a child. Read his bio, it’s pretty sad.
Can make anyone feel like they rule the world... Musk does rule the world, so, he's correct to take it?
Everybody wants to rule the world
It can have devastating effect on your bladder as well, some people need to go the the toilet every hour or even have it removed.
I had severe depression and did the ketamine nasal spray at a clinic. I didn't feel like it really helped me, but according to my therapist, my mood did markedly improved. Unfortunately, the process is anything but pleasant. The greatest thing I ever did was to say yes to doing shrooms.
Whenever someone sees someone in full-blown psychosis walking stark naked on the side of the road, PCP immediately gets the blame. In reality, both drugs have the same psychosis potential.
It's not an immediate thing. Heavy users will just start feeling confident and motivated. Little need for sleep and a spring in their step like they are light as a feather. As the heavy use continues, this can spiral into mania, delusions of grandeur, detachment from reality and paranoia.
I have no way of knowing how much Elon uses, but it would not surprise me if he is treating himself with consistent low doses of ketamine. I wonder how his memory is, that would be a pretty good tell.