This comprehensive approach helps people build the skills to stay sober and maintain long-term recovery. While residential treatment provides an immersive and structured environment, not everyone can attend an inpatient program. Outpatient programs offer flexibility for people who need to continue their recovery while maintaining work, school, or family commitments.
How to Manage Ketamine Addiction Withdrawal Symptoms?
Intensive outpatient programs (IOPs) offer a higher level of care, with multiple therapy sessions each week. Regular exercise improves physical health, boosts mood, and reduces anxiety—two key factors in maintaining sobriety. Many treatment programs incorporate activities like yoga, walking, or group sports to help individuals reconnect with their bodies and positively release stress. Exercise can also counteract some of the negative physical effects of long-term ketamine abuse. Detoxing from ketamine isn’t just about the physical body—it’s also a time of intense emotional healing. Many people who abuse ketamine do so to escape emotional pain, stress, or mental health issues.
What Is Ketamine Addiction? History, Symptoms, and Treatment
Ketamine addiction refers to a condition where individuals become reliant on the drug’s dissociative effects, continuing to use it even when it causes harm. Ketamine developed as an anesthetic, has become increasingly popular for recreational use due to its powerful dissociative effects. This drug creates a sense of detachment from reality, leading many users to seek repeated experiences, which results in addiction. According to Gold (2024), in the article ‘Ketamine Use Disorder Is on the Rise,’ the number of young adults misusing ketamine is rapidly growing, with 75% of recreational users between the ages of 12 and 25. This surge in use, particularly among young people, is contributing to a rise in ketamine addiction across the United States. During detox for ketamine addiction, individuals experience withdrawal symptoms such as agitation, anxiety, and cravings.
- It is important for an individual who is withdrawing from ketamine to get in touch with the medical professionals who are supervising their treatment, so the withdrawal can be managed and kept under control.
- It belongs to a class of drugs known as dissociative anesthetics, which produce a sense of detachment from one’s surroundings.
- Because of the dissociative effects caused by ketamine ingestion, specific psychotherapeutic approaches, the use of cognitive behavioral therapy, and a focus on dissociation are required.
- Whether through residential or outpatient programs, therapy plays a vital role in helping individuals rebuild their lives, develop healthier coping strategies, and break free from the cycle of abuse.
Is Ketamine Addictive?
However, the relief that comes from this substance is very short-lived, https://ecosoberhouse.com/ which can often propel users to take more ketamine in shorter intervals. Ketamine (often nicknamed ‘special k’) is a dissociative drug, first synthesised in the 1960s as an anaesthetic. While ketamine can be highly beneficial in hospitals for patients experiencing severe pain, it has also found its way into the black market, now used recreationally for its hallucinogenic effects. One of the more notable side effects of ketamine abuse is the “K-hole” experience.
The Power of Therapy in Ketamine Addiction Recovery #
With regular therapy, support groups, and relapse prevention strategies, outpatient treatment helps individuals stay accountable and build the skills needed for long-term success. For many, it’s the perfect balance between independence and ongoing support, helping them live a life free from ketamine addiction. The KEP model replicated the KPT technique in that it relied on the existential and transpersonal effects of ketamine to promote psychotherapeutic benefits. In Krupitsky’s retrospective, informal report of the pilot data collected from patients between 1996 and 1999, approximately 70 people who met DSM-IV criteria for alcohol dependence were treated with KEP 3. In its first of five variations formulated, Kolp treated ≈20 individuals with individual outpatient psychotherapy weekly for a period of 10 weeks, with one ketamine injection on week seven.
Your Struggles Don’t Have To Stay Silent.
The fourth adaptation of the KEP model lengthened the inpatient experience from one to two weeks, with 60 hours of psychoeducation, didactic lectures/classes, and encounter groups. The data revealed successful treatment responses for most individuals, with ≈60% (N≈6/10) maintaining sobriety one year post-intervention. In the final development of Kolp’s model, the inpatient component increased from two to three weeks (90 treatment hours) in duration. Kolp kept the same exclusion criteria for patients with an extensive history of psychedelic drug use, and 15 individuals received treatment with a second ketamine injection ketamine addiction session.
CBT also focuses on building coping skills to handle situations that might trigger drug use. These skills include stress management techniques, problem-solving strategies, and relaxation methods. By equipping individuals with practical tools to navigate life’s challenges, CBT reduces the likelihood of relapse and helps them maintain long-term sobriety. Ketamine is a promising new therapy for people suffering from addiction, offering a variety of potential benefits.
The Balance Between Independence and Support #
Both cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and contingency management are useful behavioral therapies to consider if you are dually diagnosed with a mental health issue as well as a substance use disorder. Ketamine is not currently approved by FDA for Sobriety the treatment of any substance use disorder. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) can be a highly effective treatment for severe depression and other medication-resistant mental health disorders.
All further steps are aimed at relapse prevention and may include various therapies and techniques to improve awareness and reduce stress. These calls are offered at no cost to you and with no obligation to enter into treatment. Neither this site nor anyone who answers the call receives a commission or fee dependent upon which treatment provider a visitor may ultimately choose. If you’re struggling with ketamine use, understanding these growing trends highlights that you’re not alone in this battle, and help is available.