Ketamine is an anaesthetic used for human and animal operations, but it’s recreational use due to the hallucinogenic effects it produces can be highly addictive.
The feeling of being ‘outside one’s body’ that this drug creates has made it a popular choice among users; however, the hallucinations induced by ketamine can often be frighteningly intense.
It also carries with it an extreme level of mental addiction which makes quitting difficult or impossible without professional help.
Everyone is vulnerable to ketamine addiction, and those who develop an unhealthy dependence can face serious consequences.
Fortunately, the experts at Connection Mental Healthcare Are devoted to helping clients overcome their addictions with a medically-sound approach tailored to each individual’s needs. This way our clients have hope of returning to life in fullness after treatment.
Ketamine causes stunning cognitive effects, from a heightened sense of reality to visions and hallucinations.
At higher doses, it can dramatically reduce coordination and movement; the individual may experience confusion or fear as orientation becomes more difficult with impaired motor skills. Overall, ketamine produces an altered state of consciousness that many people find mind-altering and unreal.
As someone’s ketamine use progresses, they may develop an increased tolerance and the need to take more of it, in order to achieve their desired effects.
This can lead them into obsessive thinking that always revolves around when or where the next dose will come from – often resulting in destructive behaviour such as neglecting important things like work, school, and relationships with family/friends.
Withdrawal symptoms become so unbearable that quitting is almost impossible despite any attempts made by those trying to break free from addiction.
Ketamine addiction is a serious issue that can lead to devastating long-term consequences.
The drug suppresses pain stimuli, affecting muscle coordination and increasing the risk of injury during use; it also causes nausea and vomiting which can be dangerous if a person becomes unconscious due to ingestion.
In addition, ketamine has an adverse effect on mental health leading to psychosis as well as severe fears in some people.
When combined with other substances like alcohol or GHB it may result in catastrophic outcomes such as coma while blending with cocaine or amphetamine raises possibilities of cardiovascular diseases being developed down the line.
When faced with the question of whether or not you are addicted to ketamine, it can be hard to know for sure. Frequency and quantity of use combined with any negative consequences should be taken into account when trying to assess if dependence on this substance has occurred.
If that is indeed true, oftentimes individuals find themselves unable to break free from their addiction alone; which is why Connection Mental Healthcare offers professional guidance in tackling a Ketamine Addiction head-on through personalised recovery treatment plans tailored specifically for your individual needs.
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Hallucinogenic
Ketamine is an anaesthetic drug that was invented in the early 1960s. Because of the hallucinatory side effects, it was subsequently also discovered as a party drug. It is used in low and high doses. In the first case you often experience a dreamy feeling. High doses can lead to severe hallucinations. It then feels as if your body and mind are separated from each other. A dose that is too high can lead to a so-called K-hole, in other words: a bad trip.
Tolerance
We know from ketamine use that tolerance develops fairly quickly. This means that your body needs more each time for the same desired effect. In addition, the effect is relatively short. This makes the chance of ketamine addiction significant.
Long-term use
If you have used a lot of ketamine for a long period of time, there is a good chance that you have become mentally dependent on this drug. Dependence can cause serious complaints.
Professional help
At Connection Mental Healthcare we offer professional help with ketamine addiction. We help our clients to stop using ketamine in a medically responsible and committed way. Thanks to our personal approach, our clients can return to life in a full way after the treatment.
Scientific research has shown that parts of the brain, such as the reward centre, memory and the neocortex, are involved in the development and further development of addiction. Quitting a substance to which you are addicted is therefore not at all easy, because your own brain cells are bothering you.
Moreover, long-term use of ketamine causes a permanent change: there are fewer dopamine receptors and powerful memories are created. These changes make you even more susceptible to addiction. With this knowledge you could therefore call ketamine addiction a (mental) disease.
Hereditary yes or no?
According to studies, drug use appears to be hereditary. However, it does not necessarily mean that you will also become addicted if one of your parents is or was addicted. Environmental conditions can reduce the effect of increased susceptibility.
Family disease
Addiction can be labelled as a ‘family disease’. An addiction does not only have effects on the addict himself, but also on the environment. That is why Connection Mental Healthcare also likes to have contact with the client’s social system during treatment. In this way we help family and friends to learn how to deal with the effects.
Family program
Want to know more about our family program ? Please contact us by phone at 021 541 0643.