How To Help Someone You Love With Ketamine Addiction
With the rise of ketamine misuse, there are thousands and thousands of people who are currently suffering from ketamine addiction. It can be extremely difficult to watch a loved one whether it’d be your partner, family member or close friend suffer from ketamine addiction. Quitting ketamine altogether can be hard but it’s very important that during times you give love and support that can put them on the road to recovery.
We can’t make people’s decisions for them but we can help someone suffering from addiction to see their destructive ways and push them closer to getting help for their ketamine addiction so that they can start getting back to the healthiest version of themselves. In this guide, we’ll be going through what is ketamine, the signs and symptoms that a loved one may show and practical steps that you can take in order to try to get them the help that they need.
What Is Ketamine?
Ketamine addiction can be one of the most difficult vices to break without the proper help. Even when someone tries to stop taking ketamine, they will find that it’s almost impossible and this is due to the chemical changes in the brain from misusing the drug over an extended period of time.
Ketamine or also known on the street as Ket, Special K or Vitamin K is an anaesthetic made for animals but it has found its way to becoming a popular street drug that is abused on a daily basis by thousands of people. It is most popular amongst younger people in nightclubs, dance events and more.
Ketamine is labelled as a Dissociative Anaesthetic due to its sedating effects. Ketamine misuse will cause people to have an ‘out-of-body experience’ where the user will feel detached from themselves and the things going on around them in their surroundings. The substance of Ketamine will distort a person’s perception of sight and sound which can make it difficult to move. Ketamine addicts will describe taking ketamine as a ‘state of bliss’ due to the effects.
There are a few ways that someone can consume ketamine but it is most commonly taken by sniffing it in powder form, some addicts take ketamine through injection as a stronger way to get a more powerful high. It has also been found to be in tablet form to swallow but it’s very uncommon.
What Is A K-Hole (Ket Hole)?
You might have heard the term ‘ket-hole’ or also known as k-hole in short when hearing about ketamine. It is a state that ketamine users describe to be a dissociative state and where they feel they have become detached from reality. When people take a large amount of the ketamine substance, users will find themselves getting an intense experience of these feelings leading them to be in a ‘ket-hole.’
When ketamine addicts have been asked to describe what a ket-hole feels like, they have described the feeling as an intense sensation where it feels like they have been separated from their body. Looking at someone who is in a ket-hole from the outside, it can look like a person is in a zombie-like state and unresponsive to what is going on around them which can be highly dangerous.
The ‘high’ of taking ketamine can last 30 minutes but can last a lot longer depending on the amount taken and frequency. Ketamine addiction can be a very serious affliction that can damage a person’s physical and mental health.
Recognising A Ketamine Addiction
It can be very hard to admit that a loved one has a ketamine addiction, you may have seen signs in the past that point towards a ketamine addiction, and there are many signs & symptoms that can point to other afflictions such as mental health which make it difficult to fully point towards a ketamine addiction. As we are speaking to our loved ones, we never want to rush to conclusions and accuse them of something as serious as drug addiction as it can push them the wrong way.
There are signs & symptoms that can vary depending on the individual but identifying if a loved one is showing these signs on a daily basis can help see if your loved one is suffering from a ketamine addiction and help them get the help they need through rehabilitation.
- Dangerous Behaviours
- Change Of Friendships
- Consuming Ketamine Daily
- Paranoia
- Money Problems
- Lack Of Concentration
- Depression
- Anxiety
You will start to notice them suffering from withdrawal symptoms from ketamine when they aren’t taking it which can be extremely painful for the user such as nausea, stomach pains, heavy sweating, mood swings, heavy depression and more. That is why it is important to find rehabilitation in order for a safe detox done by medical professionals.
Helping Someone With A Ketamine Addiction
Before you try to reach out to someone with a ketamine addiction, it is crucial that you learn more about addiction in order to understand what they are going through. While it may seem like they are unwilling to change their destructive behaviour, substance addiction is a lot more complex and serious than that.
Many people take ketamine as a way to cope with what they are struggling with whether that’d be depression, stress or anxiety. That is why you must support them through these testing times and let them know you will be with them throughout the recovery process.
It is understandable that you may have strong feelings of hurt, betrayal and anger towards a loved one who is suffering from a ketamine addiction but you need to manage your feelings in a better manner and allow yourself a cooling down period but you approach them as strong feelings of anger can push away someone suffering from a drug addiction more.
Many people have found success in arranging an intervention, where many loved ones can express their feelings in a non-judgemental and safe manner so the person can see how their ketamine addiction is affecting people. This allows the person suffering from a ketamine addiction to also speak on their side.
There is always hope through rehabilitation and many people through rehabilitation have kicked their ketamine addiction and got back to their healthiest version to start living the life they deserve.
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