How Ketamine Abuse is Tied to Rising Suicide Rates

Ketamine is a dissociative anaesthetic that is widely used across the country. Ketamine was actually first developed (or synthesised) in the 1960s, derived from its parent drug “phencyclidine” in the pursuit of a safer anaesthetic, with less hallucinogenic effects.

In medical settings, it’s used in a controlled method and environment to induce anaesthesia and swiftly relieve pain. In more recent years, it has been trialled, to some success, as a fast-acting antidepressant in treatment-resistant depression. When taken under professional care, ketamine can change brain chemistry, which reduces some symptoms of severe depression and suicidal ideation.

For those using ketamine recreationally, the effects can quickly spiral out of control, growing unpredictable and dangerous. Recreational users might take it for its hallucinogenic or “out-of-body” results, through a state of detachment that feels dreamlike. However, these highs give way to increasingly sharp lows, plagued with waves of depression and gnawing instability.

At high doses, a person can experience what is known as a “K-hole.” Researchers have described a K-hole as a phenomenological experience, marked by a profound dissociation from reality itself. It is perhaps in these words that we can start to understand the silent but powerful drivers of suicidal ideation for people in the throes of ketamine misuse and addiction.