© 2026 ABC News

The FDA has classified the use of ketamine for mental health conditions as an \"off-label use\" of the drug and has approved a ketamine nasal spray to help fight treatment-resistant depression.

Doctors say that ketamine therapy should be carefully monitored by a licensed professional and used together with other medications and therapies, like meditation.

Researchers are still learning about how exactly ketamine affects the brain, but studies so far show that the treatment could possibly help people relieve emotional pain from old traumas, like the guilt Odom said he still feels about being away from home when his 6-month-old son died in 2006.

Odom's journey using ketamine for treatment is the feature of a new documentary, \"Lamar Odom Reborn,\" airing this week on YouTube, MTV Live and other social media platforms.

Odom said he hopes his story inspires Black men in particular to pay more care to mental health, in addition to sharing his experience with ketamine.

\"I don't think I will stop it,\" he said of the drug. \"I wouldn't want to try to stop to be great. If I have greatness inside of me, I want to try to get it out.\"

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Wellness/lamar-odom-speaks-recovery-ketamine-treat-addiction/story?id=77723713","legacySlug":"/wellness/story/lamar-odom-speaks-recovery-ketamine-treat-addiction-77723713","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"12:19","publishDate":"05-17-2021","updatedTime":"21:36","updatedDate":"05-17-2021","socialImage":{"alt":"Lamar Odom attends 2020 Retired Player's Ball at the Westside Warehouse, Dec. 4, 2020, in Atlanta.","credit":"Paras Griffin/Getty Images, FILE","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/lamar-odom-file-gty-jef-210516_1621191653057_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"5/17/2021 12:19:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":77723713,"headline":"Lamar Odom talks his recovery from drug addiction","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_Lamar Odom drug treatment_210517","description":"Odom said being treated with small doses of ketamine has helped keep him sober.","duration":"5:20","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/05/210517_gma_osunsamai_0818_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["52917061","67627768","66179579"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"February 8, 2018","headline":"How addicts and their loved ones find 'strength' in online community","section":"living","slug":"/living/story/addicts-loved-find-strength-online-community-52917061","id":52917061,"image":{"alt":"How addicts and their loved ones find 'strength' in online community","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Lifestyle/fbaddiction4-gma-ht-mem-180208_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"ABC","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"December 10, 2019","headline":"Woman's post on losing family member to overdose touches thousands","section":"wellness","slug":"/wellness/story/womans-viral-facebook-post-losing-family-member-overdose-67627768","id":67627768,"image":{"alt":"Woman's post on losing family member to overdose touches thousands","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/christopher-pennington-ht-aa-191210_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Courtesy Susan Cicotte","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"October 10, 2019","headline":"'Sesame Street' takes on tough issues as Muppet's mom battles drug addiction ","section":"family","slug":"/family/story/sesame-street-takes-tough-issues-muppets-mom-battles-66179579","id":66179579,"image":{"alt":"'Sesame Street' takes on tough issues as Muppet's mom battles drug addiction ","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/Sesame-Street-Addiction-ap-ml-191010_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Flynn Larsen/Sesame Workshop via AP","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Lamar Odom talks his recovery from drug addiction","description":"Odom said being treated with small doses of ketamine has helped keep him sober.","duration":"5:20","uploadDate":"05-17-2021","publication":"05-17-2021","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/05/210517_gma_osunsamai_0818_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/05/210517_gma_osunsamai_0818_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/wellness/story/lamar-odom-speaks-recovery-ketamine-treat-addiction-77723713"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132628890","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132569874","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132567885","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132510121","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132473181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132497933","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132281378","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132283010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132273278","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132231169","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132206748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132200241","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:wellness:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"wellness","title":"Lamar Odom talks his recovery from drug addiction","pubTime":"08:19","pubDate":"05-17-2021","modTime":"17:36","modDate":"05-17-2021","taxonomyTags":"none","id":77723713,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Lamar Odom talks his recovery from drug addiction","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_Lamar Odom drug treatment_210517","videoId":77723713,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/wellness/story/lamar-odom-speaks-recovery-ketamine-treat-addiction-77723713"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/77723713","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/77723713","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};