#830 - Neal Brennan

Neal Brennan (0:01)

I got stories, I got that magnetic shit I did to my brain. Now, is it happening?

Joe Rogan (0:07)

It's happening. Right now. Crazy how it works out like that, right?

What were you just about to say?

Neal Brennan (0:13)

I was about to say I did some magnetic shit to my brain. What? Yeah, I feel like I'm your depression correspondent.

Like, I go out and do crazy shit.

I did that. All right, so it's called, I talked about it last time I was here. I was gonna do it. I did ketamine, which I gotta say I cannot recommend.

Joe Rogan (0:35)

Really?

Neal Brennan (0:35)

Yeah. I did three, no, actually I did six sessions, which was crazy, did it. But the side effects long term were my eyes burnt for straight up two to three months every day.

Joe Rogan (0:50)

Burnt?

Neal Brennan (0:51)

Yeah, it was like burnt, like I needed drops constantly.

Joe Rogan (0:53)

Like you stared the sun burnt?

Neal Brennan (0:56)

No, like irritated.

Joe Rogan (0:59)

Like you got something in them?

Neal Brennan (1:00)

Yeah, more like that. And I just felt like kind of groggy and out of it for a couple of months.

Joe Rogan (1:06)

Really?

Neal Brennan (1:06)

Yeah.

Then I did. Well, let's explain that though, because we're kind of glossing over it. Well, I talked about it last time I was here. Did you? Yeah, because I got a lot of people.

Joe Rogan (1:16)

Did you talk about you were going to do it or you don't?

Neal Brennan (1:18)

Maybe I was going to do it. I think you had done it. Yeah, I had done it, and it was still too early to tell.

Joe Rogan (1:23)

But I remember running into you in the hall of the comedy store, and you were super happy with it.

Neal Brennan (1:27)

It was amazing. The first time I did it, the first two sessions were great. And then after that, I kind of hit a plateau, and I just kind of felt like, just kind of like groggy for, I'm not kidding, like a couple months.

Joe Rogan (1:41)

So the first session you did, you get this positive benefit from it. What's the point in continuing?

Neal Brennan (1:47)

Because the treatment is six sessions.

Joe Rogan (1:50)

The protocol.

Neal Brennan (1:51)

Yeah, that's the protocol. So, hold on, I think I have video of it too. Whoa.

I know I have video.

Joe Rogan (1:58)

Twitching and...

Neal Brennan (1:59)

No, it's not even that interesting. You're just basically in like a hospital room.

Joe Rogan (2:04)

Right, but the experience itself, you said, was full blown psychedelic.

Neal Brennan (2:09)

Straight up fucking 100% tripping balls.

Joe Rogan (2:15)

And this is all FDA approved?

Neal Brennan (2:17)

It's FDA approved as an anesthetic.

It's not FDA approved. Actually, you know what? It's getting there. I think it is there, actually, because otherwise we wouldn't be able to talk about it.

Joe Rogan (2:27)

Yeah.

Neal Brennan (2:28)

It is approved as an off-label depression treatment.

Joe Rogan (2:33)

Off-label is tricky shit, isn't it?

Neal Brennan (2:35)

Yes, because there's no... They don't know.

Joe Rogan (2:39)

Yeah.

Neal Brennan (2:39)

Maybe. I mean, that's all of them in some ways, especially with antidepressants. It's all like, yeah, this might...

This might could do something. Maybe not.

Joe Rogan (2:47)

I like that there's stuff that they can do to you that is definitely beneficial, but it's just, you know, your insurance isn't going to cover it. If you have the cash, you can pay for it.

Neal Brennan (2:56)

Yeah. That's kind of the situation I was in where it's like nobody was going to pay for it, but if you want to roll the dice, and I rolled the dice and I got to say...

Joe Rogan (3:06)

But do you think that if the initial treatments that you had, the first couple that you really had good responses from, if you just stopped there, you'd have a different opinion of it?

Neal Brennan (3:14)

I don't know.

That's the thing is, if I had just done it once, it kind of felt like... You ever do acid?

Joe Rogan (3:20)

Yes.

Neal Brennan (3:21)

You know that like ping, that like super clear feeling you get? That's how I felt the day I saw you.

Joe Rogan (3:26)

I did acid for the first time, like I want to say four months ago.

Neal Brennan (3:30)

Oh wow.

Joe Rogan (3:31)

Five months ago.

Neal Brennan (3:31)

That's great. What did you think?

Joe Rogan (3:33)