ANXIETY
IV ketamine therapy for anxiety
Your brain has been in high-alert mode so long it feels normal. It is not, and it is not permanent. We treat anxiety at the neurological root, paired with the brain-health work that makes it actually last.
70%Average GAD-7 drop
6Infusions over 2–3 weeks
HoursNot weeks, to first shift
Symptom-score data based on AlphaOmega Wellness treatment records, 2022–2026, using PHQ-9 and GAD-7. Individual results vary.
IF THIS SOUNDS FAMILIAR
You are not overreacting. Your alarm system is stuck on.
You can talk yourself through it. You know the thing you are worried about is not that dangerous. And your body does not care, because the part of you that sounds the alarm is not the part that listens to reason.
That is not a willpower problem. It is a nervous system that has been running the threat response so long it has stopped standing down on its own.
THE QUESTION WE ASK FIRST
Which one is actually driving?
Anxiety and depression travel together far more often than either travels alone, and the order they arrived in changes what we would do first. This is a real part of the consult, not a quiz.
Anxiety came first
The worry arrived first and wore you down. Sleep went, then appetite, and the flatness followed as a consequence of running hot for months. Treat the alarm system and the rest usually follows.
Depression came first
The heaviness arrived first, and the anxiety grew out of trying to function through it — the dread of being found out, of not keeping up. Different starting point, different plan.
THE MECHANISM
Turning the alarm down at the source
Benzodiazepines work by dampening everything, which is why they help in the moment and why they are a poor long-term answer. SSRIs work slowly on serotonin, and for a lot of people they take the edge off without changing the underlying setting.
Ketamine acts on glutamate and the NMDA receptors, which triggers BDNF and gives the brain a window where it can form new connections more readily than usual. In practical terms, that is a chance for a nervous system stuck in threat mode to learn a different default — which is exactly why what you do in the weeks after carries so much of the result.
The full protocol, step by step, is on the IV ketamine therapy page.
IN HER WORDS
What severe anxiety actually felt like
Emily describing what it was like before, and what changed. If you have been told to just manage it for long enough that you have stopped expecting anything else, this one is worth a few minutes.
More on the reviews page.
If the anxiety sits on top of depression, or underneath PTSD and trauma, we treat them together rather than one at a time. Pretending they are separate problems is how people end up on their fourth medication.
In crisis right now? Call or text 988. When you are safe, we are here.
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ACTUALLY ASK
Anxiety and IV ketamine
Does ketamine work for anxiety, or only depression?
Both, and they are usually tangled together. The evidence base is larger for depression, but generalised anxiety and anxiety riding alongside depression both respond, and the two are treated in the same course rather than separately.
Will I have to come off my anxiety medication?
Usually no. Most people continue what they are on, and any change is made by your prescriber rather than by us unilaterally. Everything you take gets reviewed at the consult.
Is the infusion itself anxiety-provoking?
It is a fair thing to worry about. You are in a private room, monitored, with someone in the room rather than down the hall, and we talk through exactly what the experience feels like before you ever sit down. Most people describe it as floaty rather than frightening.
What about benzodiazepines?
Tell us what you are taking. Benzodiazepines can blunt ketamine’s effect, so timing matters, and that is a conversation to have with your prescriber rather than something to change on your own.
How many infusions will I need?
Six over two to three weeks is the standard induction, then we reassess together. Some people need occasional boosters afterward and some do not.
Does insurance cover it?
No. IV ketamine is used off label for anxiety, so this is self-pay. HSA and FSA work, Affirm is available, and the full breakdown is on the cost page.
GET STARTED
Find out if this is a fit
A free consult, about thirty minutes, with our team rather than a call center. We will tell you honestly whether IV ketamine is a fit for your anxiety, and cover pricing, HSA and FSA, Affirm and first-responder and veteran discounts on the call.
Medically reviewed by Dr. Dee Bonney, MD, board-certified emergency medicine physician, and Megan Bonney, PMHNP-C, board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. AlphaOmega Wellness is physician-led and family-owned, in Greenwood, Indiana. Meet the team.