Ketamine for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Background on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a silent disorder. Sufferers find it difficult to express what is it they are going through and to help others understand what it is. They are met with even more frustration when conventional treatments offer little to no results to an already perplexing disorder.
In the past, OCD had only been treated with SSRIs. However, those with OCD have found promising results in the last two decades, with what used to exclusively be a general anesthetic, Ketamine.
What is OCD?
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a type of mental and anxiety disorder affecting between 2 to 3 million adults in the United States alone. OCD operates in a repeated cycle of obsession, anxiety, compulsion, and then temporary relief.
The cycle begins with obsession, unwanted thoughts or urges, for example, which then leads to anxiety. To try and make it go away, the person will engage in some kind of compulsion, which has varied and unique responses in each individual. Different obsessions may have different compulsions. To treat and self-soothe the obsession and anxiety, the individual will engage in compulsive behavior, which usually offers relief, although it’s only temporary.
Someone with OCD will often report that if they do not respond to an obsession with a compulsive behavior, “something negative may happen.” A need to do a compulsion can feel like life or death to the sufferer. This cycle can happen several and even hundreds of times a day.
Common OCD Manifestations
There are varying obsessions and compulsions in OCD. Not every individual with OCD will experience the exact same set of symptoms, and some are more or less common than others.
Some common obsessions and compulsions may include but are not limited to:
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Cleaning and sanitization
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Excessive hand washing
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Fear of contamination
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Rumination on superstitions, luck, and religion
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Checking locks, doors, and other objects repeatedly
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Obsession with certain numbers, having to touch or count to that number ritualistically
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Hoarding and fear of letting go
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Intrusive and unwanted thoughts, which can even be violent and sexual in nature
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Symmetry and arrangement
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Ritualistic checking and behavior
These obsessions and compulsions are very hard to control, making daily obligations and social settings a deeply anxious experience for someone with OCD, and they often find themselves in embarrassing situations, feeling like a prisoner to their own minds.
Treatments for OCD
OCD has still been somewhat of an enigma to the mental health world. Its symptoms and individual experiences vary greatly, there is not one medication or treatment that improves or heals OCD alone.
Medications like SSRIs and antidepressants, therapy like CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), and self-care are the approaches most take.
SSRIs had been the only medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat OCD. Although some patients have found benefits from these medications, bothersome and sometimes dangerous side effects keep patients from being encouraged to stay or even begin taking these drugs.
An alternative treatment for OCD
A popular sedative drug with a taboo, known on the streets as “Special K’, Ketamine, originally a general anesthetic, became a surprising alternative to mood disorder medications in research conducted in the 1990s at Yale.
Ketamine has been found to regenerate damaged nerve cells in the brain, so patients not only feel relieved for a time, but any damage influencing their mood disorder may be healed with regular treatments because of its regenerative benefits.
Ketamine, in small doses, can offer immediate relief. Over time with Ketamine treatment, patients with OCD have found long term results in healing or lessening their daily battle with the disorder.
No more suffering in silence
If you suffer from OCD and have found little luck with medications and therapy, ketamine infusion therapy may help to alleviate the severity of your disorder.
Contact us to learn more about Ketamine for OCD. We’d love to help you book an appointment at one of our locations and experience mental freedom today!