Understanding the Cycle: How Does Ketamine Addiction Impact Mental Health?

Introduction to Ketamine

Ketamine is a pharmaceutical drug used as anesthesia and sedation for pain management. In medical uses, it is given in prescribed doses and wears off quickly within 30 minutes, making it suitable for emergencies and short-term medical procedures. Ketamine, also known by various names like KET, Vitamin K, Special K, etc. Although ketamine is manufactured and sold in the market legally, most of the time, people get it for illegal use. In this article, we will discuss ketamine addiction and how ketamine affects mental health. 

The Starting Point: Why People Get Hooked

Misuse of the ketamine drug nowadays is rising sharply, and this addiction is mostly seen in young individuals. People take it to escape from emotional or depressed situations. It gives a temporary relief to the brain. After some time, people again feel some ketamine withdrawal symptoms and again take it to escape the situation. These create a regular habit of intake; as a result, the brain develops tolerance, meaning the person needs a larger amount of doses of ketamine than they previously took, and soon they get into the addiction unknowingly.

The Hallucination Effect on the Mind

As ketamine has an anesthetic property, it creates hallucinations in the brain. A person often lives in his imagination and doesn't have a clear idea about what is real and what is imagination. Repeatedly living in imagination makes the person dull, anxious, and frightened in the real world. The person also feels lonely and isolated from his family and friends. These are some of the symptoms of ketamine addiction often seen in individuals.

The Mood Crash and Body Pain

Due to an imbalance of the brain’s chemical messenger system, a person goes through mood swings. After the drug wears off, the person again feels depressed and irritated. Along with the mental stress, ketamine addiction effects also affect the body. Due to excessive use, heart rate and blood pressure spike abnormally. It also causes liver and bladder problems, which may be critical.

It also causes extreme pain in some internal body parts, which urges the patients to take higher doses of ketamine, which leads to an emergency. If snorted through the nose, it may damage the nasal passageways and the structure of the nose, causing a smell problem. Sometimes people take it in liquid form through injection, which may damage veins and muscles and cause various skin diseases.

Treatment options for recovery

When a person deals with ketamine addiction and its long-term abuse, it is important to go through specialized ketamine addiction treatment programs, safely withdraw from this addiction, and have the opportunity to learn and apply various methods to recover in a short period of time. Rehab centers offer various customized therapies, such as CBT, group therapy, family counseling, and outpatient/inpatient therapy, based on the patient’s needs and risk factors. The patient can also attend various yoga and exercise sessions for quick mental and physical recovery. With professional treatments, family support, and self-motivation, it is possible to counter ketamine addiction.