Elon Musk first tweeted about having a prescription for ketamine in August 2023:
Then, more recently (see 19m 14s), he discussed his use of ketamine in an interview with Don Lemon.
Key points he makes are:
- He has a doctor’s prescription for the ketamine.
- He uses it every couple of weeks if he finds himself in a negative frame of mind that he can’t think his way out of.
- He will go for weeks without using it if he doesn’t have any depressive episodes.
- When asked if he thinks he abuses it, he said “I don’t think so”. Going on to say that if you use too much ketamine you can’t get work done. Which is incompatible with his life, where he needs to stay mentally sharp. Working 16 hour days 6-7 days per week.
Then, in line with his tweet above, he says that he says that if someone has depression issues, they should consider talking to their doctor about ketamine instead of using SSRIs.
The Relevance of Elon’s Ketamine Use
There are several reasons for highlighting this topic:
- Depression is a prevalent issue in modern society. For example in the US, NIMH estimated that 8.3% of Americans had at least 1 major depressive episode in 2021.
- Depression can lead to abusive drug behavior such as alcoholism. At an extreme, it can lead to suicide.
- Elon Musk is one of the richest men in the world, and arguably one of the most successful alive. Him talking openly about dealing with depression helps to de-stigmatize it.
- Elon is also widely respected, so for him to highlight ketamine in a positive light is notable. Ketamine, rightly or wrongly, has in the past had some stigma attached to it.
Coincidentally, before Elon’s Don Lemon interview, we published a couple of articles about the use of ketamine for depression. The first was a review of an at-home service called Mindbloom. The second was a comparison of Mindbloom’s occasional, higher-dose therapy to Joyous’ everyday therapy. Therefore, when Elon talked publicly about his ketamine use, it seemed relevant to highlight it.
For a $100 discount on Mindbloom’s service, follow that link.
Questions & Answers
He says (in the Don Lemon interview) roughly every other week. However, he notes that sometimes he goes for weeks without using it, if he doesn’t have a depressive episode.
Elon hasn’t, to our knowledge, said whether he uses IV or oral ketamine. Those are the two most common methods of using ketamine therapeutically. If we had to guess, we might assume he uses it orally. This is for 2 reasons. 1) He notes that he has a prescription, and it’s unlikely he’d need one if he’s going to an IV ketamine center. 2) He has a busy schedule, so it’s unlikely he goes to a clinic for IV ketamine each time he needs it.
Elon notes in this tweet that he has serious concerns about SSRIs (which are a popular form of antidepressants), saying that, in his opinion, the occasional use of ketamine is a much better option.
