The Dr. Chalmers Wellness Insights Podcast episode features an in-depth conversation between Dr. Matt Chalmers and Scott Richardson discussing Scott’s experiences with ketamine therapy following multiple family tragedies. Scott candidly shares his journey through grief, the impact on his mental health, and how ketamine treatments aided his healing process. The conversation delves into setting intentions, dealing with loss, and the profound effect ketamine therapy had on Scott’s emotional well-being, offering a glimpse into the transformative potential of this therapy in addressing trauma and mental health challenges.

Highlights of the Podcast

00:55 – COVID pneumonia

03:21 – The joyful times that you’re supposed to be enjoying in life

05:27 – The minimum dosage

06:05 – Check your hormones

07:15 – A thing called mind blowing

09:54 – How to build that in your mind versus the other ones you did?

10:27 – When you have anxiety and you tell it in somebody

14:25 – Talking to your subconscious

16:04 – Bad part of COVID

18:06 – You got to figure out how to set your own intention

20:30 – PR surgery

22:15 – Psychotherapy or talk therapy

23:36 – The Academy thing

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:00:04] Is Dr. Cheever talking to her episode of Wellness Insights with Dr. Chalmers. And we’re talking more about ketamine and we’re talking about the setting intentions of the things that we’re doing to make everything really kind of. Function a lot better. And so, yeah, I was I was talking about some stuff and Scott Richardson, I kind of got tangled together and we kind of walked through what we’re going to do. Scott Walker’s walk us through with what you were doing ahead of time. I haven’t covered what you’ve done, what your experience with ketamine is so far.

Scott Richardson [00:00:35] Do you want me to talk about what led up to a why do it? Or like what was not working?

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:00:40] Or if you’re comfortable with your temple, with that animal, with how you know, how you got into it, what’s going on? Like what you’re going, Yeah, I’m fine.

Scott Richardson [00:00:49] So last year. On January 1st, 2022, my mom passed away from COVID pneumonia two weeks. She was only 66. That was unexpected. She approved our own event and everything. So like being the 9 hours later she was gone. So then two weeks after that, my dad, he’s only 69. They’ve been married for 47 years. Though he the doctors basically said he disconnected from his cortex somehow. And I had to make the decision to take him off life support and watch him pass away. That was like literally like the week of my mom’s funeral. And then nine months after that, we had my mother in law who me and my spouse were taking our taking care of were taking care of passed away in October. So literally nine months. After that, she went into the hospital and she was for a stroke and she getting covered while she was in there. And she was as end stage COPD patient, dialysis patient and several other things. And the COVID mixed with the COVID just it took her out. So within nine months, we lost three out of our four parents. So that’s a lot of to deal with. So that’s kind of in it better almost two years. Or actually, this is the first year we haven’t had to deal with any deaths. So. Nothing was working. I didn’t feel. I felt like. I’m stuck. I felt like. They didn’t care anymore about life in general.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:02:41] Mm hmm.

[00:02:42] Like, I didn’t find any joy in things. I. I love my nephews to death. I don’t have any kids. My. My wife has a 28 year old son. I ain’t 28. 29 now, and that’s my stepson. But. You know, my nephews as he’s older, my nephews are younger, and I just I didn’t find any joy. Like all I found was despair. Like. Trying to think of the right words. Not depression so much, but just no joy in life, like period. Like I’d watch them and all I could think about was my parents. All I could think of. But, you know, in the the joyful times that you’re supposed to be enjoying in life, that’s all I could think about as well. My mom and dad aren’t here to enjoy this with me, and my mom and dad were really my mom above this. My dad would love this. And so that made the times like that. You’re supposed to be enjoying life that make life worth living, that made them very hard to deal with. So I we have a mutual friend that posted that he had tried ketamine and I was I was already kind of searching myself for different things like ayahuasca and stuff like that. And then we had a mutual friend post that he did ketamine treatments. And so I started to look into that because I would rather do it. You know, with somebody that knows what they’re doing and willy nilly do it myself. And then I’m like on the Aaron Rodgers trip and I’m, you know. Yeah. So yeah. So that’s and so I got into that and I have a thing with needles I pass out, so I couldn’t do the intravenous thing. So I decided to do at home and the dissolvable tablets and I think the they, I think they work just, I don’t think they work as well as intravenous, but I think with my condition I’m not able to I trip out when I go get needles.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:04:41] Yeah.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:04:41] So I’ve I’ve been in is usually a little bit faster a little bit easier to take but the orals, they, they don’t get you there.

Scott Richardson [00:04:51] Okay. So that’s kind of what led me into doing this, because I didn’t want to be on pills. I’m on some balls. I was on some balls that I still am. And I tried to get off some balls, too. And that was like. Yeah, that was that was like the second best I’d seen. My mom and dad died. That was like, one of the hardest things. Like, right after that, because I had suicidal thoughts, I had anger. I had just trying to get off of the Cymbalta, which I’m still not off, but I went from 60 milligrams to 20 milligrams, which I think is, you know, it’s a third less than I was on. It’s the minimum dosage. So I think that’s awesome. And I think after the holidays and with more ketamine treatments and stuff, I think I’m going to like in April, I think I’m going to try to tackle it again and maybe get totally off Cymbalta because I feel I’m at a point where I could be off the antidepressants. Now. I just don’t want to suffer through the withdrawal symptoms during the holidays and and everything else, because those were those were ROS those that’s the roughest thing I’ve yeah, that was rough mentally was.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:05:56] Erica might come off as a horrible thing you know it’s it’s so hard you so hopefully they’ll be able to you know as you start using more stuff to check your hormones as well if you get your testosterone out that will help you know really refill those neurotransmitters or a lot of your sirtuins in your gut. So there’s lots of things you can do to kind of balance that and help get off the medication that you have. And if you can, if you can get a goal where you can get off and feel normal again, that’s going to be a spectacular piece for him.

Scott Richardson [00:06:24] So that’s what I’m that’s what I’m working towards. But that’s kind of how I got into the into the academy portion of it. I mean, I’ve never done anything besides marijuana, like and that’s only at night, like I like to have control. It’s I had never done like I never experiment with and I don’t even drink. So I never experimented with anything when I was a kid. So it’s for me to go into this and do like some psychedelics. It took a little bit for me to, but I was I was at that point, I was desperate. I, I didn’t want to. I didn’t care.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:06:57] Well, you know, I like doing these things because it’s like, you know, if we can get these stories out, maybe people don’t have to wait as long to torture themselves as much before they can get the care they need. So, again, I appreciate you helping us out, but go ahead. Continue to come in short.

Scott Richardson [00:07:12] Yeah. So no. So that’s when I started this. I went through a thing called mind blowing where they do it at home because I don’t know any other I don’t know any other program where you’re able to do it from home without the intravenous because we do have places that I do lives around Detroit. And I just I wasn’t doing that with the I.V. I’m not comfortable. I’m not I’m good. So I got into that. I started with anxiety. Each week, I felt a little better. There are some weeks I feel like awesome. It seems to be that. And then we we just we talked and I dealt with that last week, but we could talk about that more later. But that’s, that’s kind of why I got into it. And but I’m not one to experiment with anything. It’s like and I’m not opposed to it. I’m open minded. But at the same time I wasn’t seeking it to get high or, you know, anything else, and I wanted to do it the right way. So that’s and then once I saw a person that we both look up to kind of post about it, that’s what I did. And it was like the it clicked in my head like, Oh, maybe I really need to look into this because he seems like he’s doing a lot better with it and he says he’s doing a lot better. So and I could not find any. I tried to find something bad and it should be easy to find something bad on Google. Like the negative pops out and I literally like the only thing, even with the ketamine are places around here. The only negative Google reviews you see is is some people that probably a little more high maintenance and they’re like, well, I didn’t get the care level that I needed from the doctor. Nothing about the academy, nothing that the ketamine didn’t work, just that they they didn’t like the staff. Well, that’s no, you know, so obviously it does work. So after I did my research and really dive down and tried to find some negative and I just couldn’t, that’s when I decided to make the jump and pay the money to because it is so. Expensive and insurance doesn’t cover it. But I mean, to get your peace of mind back and get get yourself back is I mean, it’s been two years of hell, basically. And I’m starting to get I’m starting to get back to where I was beforehand. I don’t think I’ll ever be I don’t know. You know, I haven’t just first time lost parents and only time. But yeah, you know, I don’t know if I’ll ever be 100% back, but I’m hoping to get pretty close to that. They’re better than you know, but I know I just got to keep working on it. And the ketamine is is significantly helped.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:09:45] Good. Very good. So how about the difference in health between when you and I talked about the the setting, the intentions and how to build that in your mind versus the other ones you did? Did you did you notice a significant any time? Yes. How are you?

Scott Richardson [00:10:02] Yeah. So. We discussed and I discuss some things with you for about a half hour and just kind of went over some of the things that I was dealing with. And because I was trying to get the most out of out of it because this is expensive. And when they don’t. E don’t have too much guidance. They want you to kind of figure it out on your own. And, you know, and that’s great. But when you have anxiety and you tell it in somebody so desperate for results and you tell them while you got to set an intention, but then you just got to let it go, and that’s basically all you say and all you get. It’s like, okay, now I’m worried about sadness and tension. Am I doing this right? And I do it because all the anxiety kicks in. And so, yeah. And so it’s like you can’t so you got to kind of giving anxious people a little more direction to help them get over their anxiety, because then all these things are just running through their head and you’re just like, I don’t know what I’m doing. Am I doing the right thing? And then you’re in it and you’re just like pure consciousness and you’re like, you’re even thinking in it like, Am I doing this right? Or am I, you know, so, you know, am I doing what I’m supposed to be doing or. Yeah. So when we.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:11:13] Go ahead, walking people through it is, I think, pretty important. That’s why I want to make sure we chat about that. So But yeah, go ahead. Yeah. So when we come to.

Scott Richardson [00:11:25] Yeah. When we talked, you thought that I needed to. And I think I did. I think after we talked, I had a realization that my mom died. My mom’s funeral was on a monday. The ambulance called me on a Wednesday for my dad. So literally two days I had one whole day in between her funeral, and they called me at six in the morning on that Wednesday. So I literally had one like one complete day to try to process or anything. And then I went right into my dad and I think I had packed my mom. Not intentionally, but I think I packed my mom in the back of my head to deal with my dad and then, you know, deal with my mother in law nine months later. And I just never dealt with my mom. And so talking to you, you said I should probably try to say goodbye to my mom. And I went in with that intention of saying goodbye to my mom. And yeah, it was I basically when I went in, I’ll get vulnerable with you. When I went in, I. I had like a conversation in my head with her, and I told her goodbye. She wasn’t there. It’s not like she was talking back to me, but I could hear what she would say. You know, because she’s your mom. So, you know, like what? How. How that person’s going to respond, how this is going to go. So it’s kind of like I did have a conversation with their head, but I didn’t because I know she’s passed is not Academy’s grade, but it doesn’t connect you to the to the other side. So. So I did that. And then afterwards, I you know, I got a super emotional I to call my aunt. I cried for like an hour, like I haven’t since they both died. And there’s been times where during this process, where I’ve where I’ve wanted to, but I think us as men, we all that inside and we don’t let it out. And that’s not good either. Now that there’s times you need to cry and you just don’t and you hold it in and then you hold hold it until you explode. And that’s part of the anxiety and what causes this. And then the next day I felt I was kind of in grief. So a little I still a little depressed, little sad and. No angry. You know, that’s grief. And then I’m good. Not surprisingly, the day after, I’m good.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:13:56] So a lot of.

Scott Richardson [00:13:57] Times, I mean, I think I made peace with it.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:14:00] Good. Yeah, you get that closure and everything falls in place where it’s supposed to be. So that’s, that’s, that’s one of the things that I’m glad that we got to talk about and set that intention of specifically meeting with Mom and like the ideas we’re going through and what your what you were needing to go through and get. Because a lot of times, again, we are like you said, you’re not talking to mom, you’re talking to your own head, you’re talking to your subconscious. And so implanting those messages back into your head that we’ve done this, we’ve broken through, we’re okay. It works really well and it’s really important. And so that’s that’s the big piece. So I’m real, real happy that you were able to get that through, especially because you were taken a little bit, a little bit more than you probably should have or needed. So that that piece was helpful as well.

Scott Richardson [00:14:51] Yeah, I probably. Yeah, I was starting to fall asleep a little bit, and I think it’s because it relaxes you so much that you do end up, you know, falling asleep here and there. But, you know, I was awake for the majority of the session.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:15:06] We’re good. No, especially these these last few weeks. I’m glad I was able to chip away at it. So, as far as the mom pleasing everything, how is that? How is the rest of the quality of life and the game Enjoy back to life and that type of stuff. Is that is that come back or is it almost back?

Scott Richardson [00:15:22] It’s. We’re getting there. I still have I think I still got a lot of work to do. There’s a lot to take on in my one brother’s in North Carolina. My other brother, I’m the only one that has a business, so I’m a little more flexible if I need to be, you know. So I was there with my parents, like every day for like two months in the hospital. And obviously I wasn’t there with my mom because they quarantined her. You know, and it’s it was over her last Christmas. And I, like, begged. I thought I was just good enough salesmen to talk those nurses and at least let me put some PPE on and let me go in the room or at least see her through the window. And they were yelling at me because I was leaving on the floor, because it was during the, you know, the real bad part of COVID. So and people didn’t know what we know now and and everything else. So. Yeah, but it’s getting there. I was able to, you know, I got. I couldn’t before. Like, I love my nephews and. I couldn’t, like, watch. Like, I can’t get them gifts even for like a birthday without seeing them. And I, you know, I break down. Mhm. I just wasn’t, I just cry, I just and I’d have to hand the phone to my wife and. You know, and that’s gone since I’ve done Academy. So that stuff’s gone. So I’m able to enjoy that. It, it’s, it’s like the it’s the good times, the bad times. You really don’t want to either. Don’t want them there. You don’t miss them during the bad. Maybe I miss my dad and my mom, you know, you want some advice or whatever. That’s what you miss. But you don’t want them to see the bad times, the good times, and you want to enjoy those good times. And so I am starting to get there. It’s the Academy is helping it a lot faster than than anything else has. But you also have to you said you have to have the right intent. You also have to work at it. You can’t just you can’t just take the medicine and just that’s it. That’s all you do.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:17:18] Yeah. And that’s what I hope that people are trying to learn as well. I tell people, like a therapist is a great thing to go grab, you know, before or during, especially afterwards. But you know, some people can’t make it through. So that’s why I wanted to, you know, brush up and kind of show people that, you know, the intention piece that’s set in your mind in the right position and right place for that ahead of time does, in fact, help quite a bit.

Scott Richardson [00:17:44] Yeah. Tell me, like after we talked and I mean, I was working on different things, but I think after we talked to you, you recognize that I really needed to work on that still. And that’s actually helped me. So having the right intention and but it gets confusing because they’re was sudden intention. And then you’re like, okay, well, how do I do that? Well, you do it like this, but we’re not going to help you like that. You got to figure out how to set your own intention. It’s like, Well, sometimes we’re not aware of what we need, and then someone talking to someone like you, you can pick up what we you can more pick up what we’re not aware of and be able to, you know, assist in and help out. And that’s what is exactly what you did. So I appreciate you.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:18:25] Absolutely. Man. I appreciate you coming on helping kind of shed more light on that scope. You know, the biggest thing is, is that people don’t know about of yeah, like so I’m glad that you got to find out about it earlier but there’s so many who who don’t now and like I’ll explain to people for addiction or for depression or for PTSD or whatever it is and they’re like, why have I never heard about that? And, you know, that’s always the thing for me. It’s like, you know, we’ve got to get out and tell people. And I tell you on our team all the time, I’m like, There’s going to be people who commit suicide because we don’t get to them in time. The information doesn’t get to them. And so I really appreciate you coming on and kind of telling your story so everybody can kind of see it like, Oh, I got a lot of things that I got the same stuff. And so maybe that, you know, take take the option of, you know, Jonathan Academy before they start doing it or, you know, the drugs that make you a zombie or, you know, doing something worse thing so.

Scott Richardson [00:19:14] And it’s okay to be messed up. I think we’re all messed up in our own way. We are. We’re all dealing with a lot of stuff. And and when you go through that much in such a short period of time, you really face it and it can really be a negative. It really throws you in a negative spiral you can’t get out of. And this has helped me. Yeah, but I mean, a lot of people I talked to, they they’re like, What’s ketamine like? Yeah. You know, And then some people are like, Oh, that’s special K And it’s like, No, I’m not getting off the street. It’s, you know. So yeah, so you kind of got to explain it to them in an ad and you know, and then there’s still some people that you know, because it is psychedelics, there’s still some people that, you know, they’re worried about me or like family members, but they see now that it’s working and they’ve changed their mind and, you know, stuff like that. But at first it’s like, you know, no, I’m not just taking acid or I’m not going on the street and getting ketamine and treating myself or, you know, or getting something because, you know, so much, you know, street drugs are laced with fentanyl now, and there’s so many people that are not doing good and dying. And so I get the worry, but it’s like, no, this is a legitimate thing because, you know, some people hear ketamine and they’re like, oh, that’s a street drug or, you know, this and that too. And it’s not I mean.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:20:26] So what is the it’s the number one drug use and PR surgery. It’s one of the number one drugs using anesthesia. Fentanyl is probably over to the number, the highest used, but it’s the safest one we know of. It doesn’t affect breathing centers. And so you’re you still breathing. So it’s one of the safest way to go about it. All of the psychedelics are actually from research. Very, very, very. So, you know, ketamine is just the most easy access legal one that we have. We have access to it. It works. It works really well because it lifts all the all the receptors, the doping, the GABA, that serotonin, first of all. And so that’s one of the things that really helps kind of break pattern and break, you know, you know, you’re hearing this, right? You’re feeling terrible. Like it helps kind of kick you out of those things so you can reprocess and design your own life again. So but it’s yeah.

Scott Richardson [00:21:13] Like.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:21:14] Awesome.

Scott Richardson [00:21:15] Last year I was a mess, especially during the holidays. This year, I’m. Abel. I’ve been. It’s been rough even this year with all that piled on top of each other. I mean, it’s really only been this is a second this is like going on to four years. Yeah. And every time I would talk to like a therapist or anything, their eyes would get all big when I told them, you know, my, my what, my story. And I’m not trying to impress. My job is not to trust my impress the therapist with the trauma that I have, you know, for them to be like, Oh, my God, That’s that’s dude, really, that’s a lot, you know? And it’s like, man, why are you. Do you know how to talk to me? So, you know, so yeah. So it’s but I’ve been to that. I talked to a therapist. I did, I did all that stuff.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:22:04] Well, yeah.

Scott Richardson [00:22:05] And like I said, I was on Cymbalta. I haven’t. No, no, you’re good. I’m done.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:22:12] Okay, well, yeah, and the research has shown that, you know, psychotherapy or talk therapy is very, very helpful, especially during and after the academy. But it’s kind of like doing a year, five or ten years of therapy all in one little session with the Academy. That’s why that’s one of the things that really, really benefits, you know, the therapy if you’re doing it with psychotherapy. That’s why ketamine with psychotherapy so beneficial.

Scott Richardson [00:22:35] Yeah, so. But I mean, without it, I, I don’t know where I’d be right now with the holiday, with Christmas coming up in a few days and. You know, I don’t know where I would be mentally. What? Without this?

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:22:49] Well, you know. You know, if you’re starting to feel bad, you know, it’s one of those things that, you know, jump out of it, make sure you get it early, because it’s one of those things that once you start down the path a little bit too far, you want to make sure you concentrate before you start earning some kind of again. But yeah, that’s fantastic. And I’m glad that whether you’re you’re in a position now where you can go to the holidays, you know, we’re not too far off and go to the holidays and feel better, you know, be functional with the rest of your family. Still have that joy. That’s a that’s a giant, giant step. And I’m super excited that, you know, coming to help you out.

Scott Richardson [00:23:20] Yeah. No, I am too. And I’m glad that I found it. And our friend posted about it because like I said, I was devout. I was trying to find different things because I was desperate to get out of this, but I just didn’t know why. And I just. And then didn’t hear about the Academy thing, you know, so. Yeah, it’s just kind of a kick in awareness about it because I really don’t think that is surprising. Like how many people just don’t know that they have no clue.

Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:23:49] Especially with a giant, giant need we have in the country. I mean, depression, anxiety, PTSD, addiction. Like, that’s that’s a that’s 100 million people. It’s more than that. Oh. So but yeah, I’m glad. I thank you for coming on and helping to talk and gain some awareness and everything. So it’s been really beneficial. Well, you know, we keep moving forward. You know, once you’ve kind of gone through more, if you’re like, Hey, I wanna come back and talk about something, let’s let’s do that. You stay in touch, try to make sure that we get any information out there like, Hey, when I did it this way, it helped me to, you know, set the intention, aspire to set the setting and the mindset this way. It really helped me on this thing that informational help, you know, come back as well. So we’ll you know, we’re going to start a Facebook group for everybody so I can kind of talk about the Wellness Insight Facebook group I guess is going to work for right now. We’ll change the names in order, but that would be great. So if you’re ever there checking things, we’ll be there checking on it. So but now I really appreciate it, man. So we’ll check back with you and have that later. So thanks so much for coming.

Scott Richardson [00:24:53] All right. Thanks, brother. I appreciate you.

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