Journey to Mental Health and Neuroscience

Dr Michael Yang is an integrative medicine specialist based in Los Angeles who specializes in Ketamine treatment.  I had an absolute blast with Michael and honestly feel a renewed sense of optimism for the medical system knowing that there are doctors like him treating patients.

In this conversation, you can expect to learn:

💊 Ketamine's clinical use and its role as a psychedelic in his clinical practice
🧠  How to increase the squishiness of your brain
😬 Why suffering might make us uniquely human
🤔 A primer on Aztec existentialist philosophy
😲 The incredible benefits of inducing awe in patients

Timestamps

[00:02:31] Categorically curious; downfalls, psychedelics, and intellect.

[00:07:58] Passion for history and diverse experiences.

[00:12:49] Moved from Bay Area to LA for MBA. Ended up running mother's clinic. Frustrated with pace of medical development.

[00:19:11] Capitalism triggers, struggling with community, broad picture. Ketamine and psychedelics require personal experience.

[00:21:32] Book titled "Scared and Horny" explores human experience.

[00:32:26] Ketamine's varying capabilities as a drug.

[00:37:22] Exploring psilocybin and ketamine experiences - transcendent.

[00:42:24] "Awe-inspiring experiences fuel transformation and growth."

[00:51:33] Exploring cultural practices and personal transformation.

[01:01:31] Struggle with global theory and meaning crisis: Suffering as a test for AI. Psychedelics and future of AI.

[01:06:36] Suffering is critical to our survival.

[01:18:47] Outline program, contemplate, change, be present.

Official Links

✉️ Email Michael at: drmichaelyang@gmail.com
👨‍⚕️ Learn more about his Clinic

Connect + Explore More from Jonny

🐦  Follow on Twitter/X @jonnym1ller
🫁  Learn more about Nervous System Mastery
🪷 Order our deck of Calm Cards (these make great gifts)
📱  Check out Stateshift — our brand new iOS + Android app
📝  Take the Nervous System Quotient (NSQ) Self-Assessment (totally free)
💌 Sign up to The Inner Frontier Newsletter

Episode Sponsors

🩸 Inside Tracker — One of the things I've changed my mind on in the past year is the value of getting blood panels taken prophylactically (ideally every six months, according to Dr. Peter Attia) rather than waiting until you have a health issue. Inside Tracker recently added hormone testing alongside a bunch of other important biomarkers that aren't included in traditional blood panels (ApoB, for example). Despite generally feeling great, my most recent set of results showed that I have some work to do to reduce levels of inflammation, and I'll be following some of their dietary + supplement recommendations to address this asap. So I highly recommend making this something you make time for at least once or twice yearly. ​Save 20% here

🥶 The Cold Plunge — I reached out to the founder of the plunge, Ryan after hearing his powerful ​story on the Danny Miranda podcast. I've shared how getting in icy cold water every day helped me to move through intense grief, and taught me what it meant to surrender. These days I use their plunge every, single, day. It's like a high-stakes meditation—a mirror into my own internal state. The Plunge team have done a phenomenal job architecting what I consider as the world's best cold plunge (it doesn't get grimy like the converted chest freezers that I used to use). For optimal health benefits, I recommend deliberate cold exposure for 11 minutes per week total. Save $150 with the code CURIOUS. ​Learn more​.

🫁 Five to Thrive — this is a free email course that I've created to teach anyone how to build nervous system regulation in just five days. It contains hundreds of hours of my own research distilled into five days of practical knowledge. Enrolment is totally free. You can sign up here: fivetothrive.email

~~

Further Ways to Support the Podcast:

🎙️  I use Riverside to record all of my podcast conversations (it's so much better than zoom for podcasting!)
🎧  I also use Transistor to host this podcast, it's fricking awesome, and I would highly recommend.
😎  RaOptics make the world's best Blue Blockers – I wear these anytime I'm out of the house after dark, and it makes a huge difference!
🤖  I use AI wizardry from Castmagic to help with each episode show-notes + timestamps
📹  Want to create a Hollywood-quality home studio? Get in touch with Kevin Shen here & save $500 with code JONNYSENT500OFF