The psychedelic 'trip' caused by ketamine treatment is actually the primary reason patients get better, not just a side effect.
For years, many medical experts believed the 'dissociative' or mystical experiences triggered by ketamine were unwanted side effects unrelated to its chemical antidepressant properties. This study found that the intensity of a patient's mystical experience directly predicts how much their depression improves, while simple dissociation does not.
Mystical Experience Induced by Esketamine Treatment: A Real-World Observational Study
medRxiv · 10.64898/2026.03.31.26349757
Esketamine is a fast-acting antidepressant drug which induces acute psychoactive effects. The most frequent is a dissociative state which seems unrelated to therapeutic efficacy. Other esketamine-induced effects, including psychedelic-like mystical experiences, have been poorly studied in terms of phenomenology and frequency, and may carry specific therapeutic relevance. In this study, we characterised esketamine-induced mystical experiences in relation with clinical outcomes. We conducted a lon