Pre-Journey Jitters? A Holistic Guide to Calming Anxiety Before Ketamine Treatment

It’s perfectly normal to feel anxious before a ketamine treatment—whether it’s your very first session or you’ve had many. Entering altered states of consciousness, especially for healing purposes, can stir up nervousness and anticipation. This is a natural response to the unknown.

If it's your first session, you might feel unsure of what to expect. Even if someone has described it to you, ketamine-assisted therapy is a deeply unique and personal experience that's hard to fully capture in words. As a provider, I’ve found that this anticipatory anxiety usually lessens after the first treatment. Once patients get a sense of how the medicine feels, many become more at ease and even look forward to future sessions with curiosity and openness.

That said, anxiety can still arise at any point in your treatment journey. Below are some strategies I often share with patients to help ease pre-treatment anxiety and support a more relaxed, grounded arrival for your session.

1. Recognize What You’re Feeling

Feeling nervous is common, but it’s worth exploring whether your anxiety might be intertwined with other emotions. Sometimes, what we label as “anxiety” may also include excitement, anticipation, or even hope. It can be helpful to remind yourself that it's okay to hold multiple emotions at once. If you sense excitement about your healing, that’s a good sign—lean into it.

2. Engage in Calming Activities Before Treatment

Ideally, we want to arrive to treatment with a calm and regulated nervous system. Gentle, grounding activities can help facilitate this. Consider practices like:

• Journaling

• Meditation or breathwork

• Spending time in nature

• Creating art or music

• Practicing gentle movement (like yoga or stretching)

Choose whatever feels nurturing and grounding to you.

3. Limit Media Consumption the Day of Treatment

Avoid engaging with television, the news, or social media prior to your session. These forms of media can be overstimulating or emotionally activating, and we want your mind to be as clear and calm as possible. Our aim is to journey inward—into the mind and subconscious—rather than exploring external noise. By limiting outside input, you create more spaciousness to connect with your inner world, your inner healer, and the wisdom that resides within.

4. Avoid Working the Day of Treatment (If Possible)

If your schedule allows, I strongly recommend taking the day off from work. Patients who try to squeeze in a full day of productivity before treatment often find it harder to fully disconnect, settle in, and be present. At New Wave Medicine, we’re happy to support your time away with doctor’s notes or FMLA paperwork, as needed.

5. Protect Your Peace

I often use the phrase “protect your peace” to describe the conscious effort to avoid situations, conversations, or content that you know may leave you feeling unsettled or dysregulated before treatment. This might mean:

• Limiting interactions with people who tend to be triggering

• Avoiding large social gatherings if they feel overstimulating

• Choosing quiet, nourishing environments in the hours before your session

  
  

This is all about knowing yourself and honoring your needs.

6. Avoid Alcohol Before Treatment

While alcohol may seem like a tempting way to relax, it can ultimately increase anxiety—especially the next day. This “hangxiety” is due to a neurochemical rebound effect, where calming neurotransmitters (like GABA) drop, and excitatory ones (like glutamate) surge. If you find yourself reaching for a drink, pause and ask: What am I actually feeling? Is it stress, loneliness, sadness? Try meeting those feelings with curiosity and gentler coping tools. Ketamine therapy can support the rewiring of emotional responses and make it easier over time to shift towards healthier behaviors and coping skills.

7. Reconnect with Your Intention

Setting an intention can help bring clarity, purpose, and grounding to your treatment. Intentions don’t need to be complex—they can be as simple as “I am open to healing” or “I want to better understand myself.” When you feel anxious, revisiting your intention can offer reassurance and a sense of direction for your journey.

8. Use a Mantra

Mantras are short, calming phrases that can help anchor your mind. You might silently repeat one before and during your session, especially while waiting for the medicine to take effect. A few examples:

• “I am safe.”

• “I trust the process.”

• “I am open to receiving.”

• “Let go.”

  
  

Choose a mantra that feels meaningful and supportive to you.

9. Use the Breath

Simple breathwork—such as long exhale breathing—can quickly shift your body into a more relaxed state. This activates the parasympathetic nervous system, often called the “rest and digest” mode. Try inhaling gently through your nose and exhaling slowly through your mouth, making your exhale longer than your inhale. This can be especially helpful if you’re feeling anxious right before your session begins.

In Closing:

If you’re feeling anxious about your ketamine treatment, please know that you’re not alone—and that this response is completely valid. The key is not to judge the anxiety, but to meet it with compassion and care. Every time you practice staying present with discomfort, you’re strengthening your ability to navigate and tolerate difficult emotions—one of the greatest skills ketamine therapy can help develop.

You’re doing brave and important work. With time and practice, this process becomes not only more comfortable—but deeply empowering.