Key Takeaways:
- Ketamine is an anesthetic and dissociative drug that changes how you experience reality by blocking the NMDA receptor in the brain.
- The dissociative effects of ketamine can make you feel disconnected from yourself, your body, and your surroundings.
- Higher doses can lead to hallucinations, psychosis, and an intense detachment from reality.
- Though medically used to treat treatment-resistant depression, misuse of ketamine can have dangerous effects on your brain activity and overall mental health.
- If you or someone you know is struggling with ketamine misuse, professional treatment can help manage the risks and effects of the drug.
Introduction
Ketamine is a powerful drug that has multiple uses, both in medical settings and, unfortunately, in recreational circles. When used under medical supervision, ketamine can help people with treatment-resistant depression and is also used as an anesthetic. However, ketamine is often misused for its intense dissociative effects. These effects can alter how you perceive reality, leading to a feeling of detachment from yourself or the world around you. The changes in brain activity caused by ketamine can make reality feel distorted, and when used in high doses, it can lead to dangerous outcomes like hallucinations or even psychosis.
How Does Ketamine Cause Dissociation?
One of the most well-known effects of ketamine is its ability to cause dissociation. Dissociation happens when you feel detached or disconnected from yourself, your body, or your surroundings. People describe it as feeling like they are floating outside their bodies or experiencing things as if they were in a dreamlike state.
So, how does ketamine cause these effects? It all comes down to the NMDA receptor in your brain. Ketamine works by blocking NMDA receptors, which regulate glutamate, a neurotransmitter that plays a significant role in brain function, memory, and perception. When ketamine blocks these receptors, it disrupts the normal flow of information in the brain, leading to dissociative states. This can result in feelings of detachment, changes in how you perceive time, and altered sensory experiences.
In medical settings, ketamine is carefully administered to control these effects. However, when misused recreationally, the dissociation can become much more intense and unpredictable, especially at higher doses.
The Dissociative Effects of Ketamine
When people use ketamine, they often experience a range of dissociative effects. These can include:
- Sensory distortions: Colors, sounds, and textures may seem exaggerated or altered.
- Out-of-body experiences: People may feel like they are watching themselves outside their bodies.
- Hallucinations: Seeing, hearing, or feeling things that aren’t there.
- Detachment from reality: You may feel like the world around you is not real or disconnected from it.
Recreational users often seek out these dissociative states for their psychedelic effects, but they can be overwhelming and scary for some. In some cases, higher doses of ketamine can lead to even more intense experiences, such as feelings of psychosis or paranoia.
Studies have shown that ketamine can induce psychotomimetic effects, meaning it can mimic the symptoms of psychosis. This includes hallucinations, delusions, and a loss of connection with reality. The severity of these effects depends on the level of ketamine taken and how the brain responds.
Medical Use of Ketamine and Its Risks
Although ketamine is often misused, it is also a medically approved drug with important uses. Ketamine is used as an anesthetic for surgeries, as it helps patients feel detached from pain and unaware of their surroundings. In recent years, low doses of ketamine have been used to treat individuals with treatment-resistant depression. When administered by a medical professional, ketamine can quickly reduce symptoms of severe depression, offering hope to those who haven’t responded to other treatments.
That being said, using ketamine without medical supervision is extremely risky. Ketamine can induce hallucinations and dangerous shifts in perception, especially when taken in large doses. Additionally, ketamine misuse can lead to addiction and long-term damage to mental health. Ketamine-induced psychosis is a serious condition that can leave individuals struggling with delusions, paranoia, and other mental health challenges.
Even with medical use, patients are closely monitored for side effects, and doses are carefully controlled to avoid complications like ketamine toxicity.
Ketamine’s Impact on the Brain
The NMDA receptor regulates brain chemicals like glutamate, essential for learning, memory, and perception. By blocking these receptors, ketamine disrupts regular brain activity, leading to altered states of consciousness and perception.
These ketamine-induced dissociative effects can occur within minutes of taking the drug, and the experience can last for a few hours. As the brain activity slows down, people may feel like time has stopped or stretched. Some describe feelings of detachment from their thoughts or body.
In recreational settings, individuals may take higher doses of ketamine, leading to more profound psychedelic effects. The risk of experiencing hallucinations or a complete detachment from reality increases with these higher doses. Long-term misuse of ketamine can result in lasting changes to brain activity, including memory issues, cognitive decline, and an increased risk of mental health disorders like depression and psychosis.
Conclusion
Ketamine is a powerful drug that can dramatically alter a person’s perception of reality. By blocking NMDA receptors, it causes dissociation, leading to feelings of detachment from oneself and the world. While ketamine has legitimate medical uses, such as treating treatment-resistant depression, its misuse can be extremely dangerous.
Those who misuse ketamine for its dissociative effects are at risk of developing serious mental health issues, including ketamine-induced psychosis. If you or someone you love is struggling with ketamine misuse, it’s essential to seek professional help.
At Virtue Recovery Center, we provide compassionate and expert care for individuals dealing with ketamine addiction and other substance use issues. Call 866-461-3339 today to learn more about our treatment options and start your journey to recovery.
FAQs About The Effects of Ketamine
What does ketamine do to the brain?
Ketamine blocks NMDA receptors, which affects brain chemicals like glutamate. This disrupts brain activity, leading to altered perception and dissociation.
What are the dissociative effects of ketamine?
Ketamine causes a range of dissociative effects, including hallucinations, out-of-body experiences, and feelings of detachment from reality.
Can ketamine cause long-term damage?
Yes, long-term misuse of ketamine can lead to lasting changes in brain activity, including memory problems and increased risk of mental health disorders.
Is ketamine used for medical purposes?
Yes, ketamine is used as an anesthetic and in low doses to treat treatment-resistant depression, but only under careful medical supervision.
How does ketamine compare to other hallucinogens?
Ketamine produces dissociative effects similar to other hallucinogens, but its method of action is unique, as it explicitly targets NMDA receptors in the brain.
Resources
https://www.dea.gov/factsheets/ketamine
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8294865/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032717324783
