{"id":255716,"date":"2025-11-02T01:29:21","date_gmt":"2025-11-02T01:29:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/255716\/"},"modified":"2025-11-02T01:29:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-02T01:29:21","slug":"frankie-bridge-reveals-life-changing-decision-to-use-ketamine-for-depression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/255716\/","title":{"rendered":"Frankie Bridge reveals \u2018life changing\u2019 decision to use ketamine for depression"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Frankie Bridge<\/a> has opened up about treating her depression<\/a> with ketamine. <\/p>\n

The former Saturdays singer, 36, has been open about her mental health over the last 14 years, <\/a>after being hospitalised with depression in 2011.<\/p>\n

At the height of her career, Frankie shared she battled anxiety<\/a>, stress, and uncontrollable panic attacks to the point she \u2018couldn\u2019t see the point of living any more.\u2019<\/p>\n

In a recent YouTube<\/a> video, the star praised \u2018ket therapy\u2019 and its life-changing effects on her life.<\/p>\n

\u2018Obviously, my mental health<\/a> is always a work in process, and I\u2019m always trying to find new ways of just making it better basically. And quite a few years ago now, I started\u00a0ketamine treatment.\u2019<\/p>\n

She revealed that she initially found it \u2018terrifying\u2019, but has now been on it for a few years as it\u2019s the \u2018only thing that really helps me long term\u2019.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Frankie
\n\t\tFrankie Bridge has opened up about her ketamine treatment for depression (Picture: YouTube\/ Frankie Bridge)<\/p>\n

\t\t\"PARIS,
\n\t\tThe singer has been open about her mental health challenges (Picture: Dave Benett\/Getty Images for 10 Magazine x OBO)<\/p>\n

\t\t\"LONDON,
\n\t\tFrankie revealed her nerves having never taken a drug before (Picture: Joe Maher\/Getty Images for the NTA\u2019s)<\/p>\n

\u2018As someone who\u2019s never taken a drug before, it was terrifying.\u00a0I\u2019ve never had that feeling of completely letting go. I think I\u2019ve realised control is a big thing for me, and\u00a0that is fully being out of control \u2013 like I don\u2019t even like being really drunk.<\/p>\n

\u2018And I started it a few years ago, and that was quite a big deal for me. It\u2019s just the only thing that really helps me long term.\u2019<\/p>\n

She then detailed how she took the drug and how the therapy worked and her journey so far.<\/p>\n

\u2018So with the ketamine, I\u2019ve done IV treatment and I\u2019ve done lozenge treatment. Now I do it with a therapist, and then\u00a0the next day we follow up and we talk through if I said anything while I was having the treatment, or how I felt during it, and just go through it.<\/p>\n

\u2018Because it\u2019s very good at bringing things up that maybe in the past you have pushed down or not acknowledged. Or it brings up things you didn\u2019t think were bothering you that much, and then you say it and you\u2019re like \u201cOh wow, okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018But it also helps with the neuropathways. So for me, it\u2019s like I have a wall in between my\u00a0neuropathways, so they can\u2019t meet and attach, and with ketamine, it builds new ones around that wall. So it\u2019s not just helpful in that moment while you\u2019re having the treatment, it\u2019s long-term and it rebuilds those for you, and I\u2019ve really noticed a difference long-term.\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tKetamine for depression\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The NHS<\/a> suggests ketamine can be used for treatment-resistant depression (TDR): \u2018Ketamine is a treatment for depression which has not responded to other treatments.\u2019<\/p>\n

But it is emphasised that Ketamine is not a licensed treatment for depression, and the effects of taking it long-term are unknown. Additionally, 1 in 10 patients have \u2018an experience that is very challenging\u2019.<\/p>\n

Potential long-term side effects include:<\/p>\n

Dependence
\nTolerance
\nBladder damage
\nCognitive impairment
\nPersonality change<\/p>\n

\t\t\"\"
\n\t\tThe star has two sons (Picture: Max Cisotti\/Dave Benett\/WireImage)<\/p>\n

\t\t\"\"
\n\t\tShe has been with Wayne Bridge since 2011 (Picture: Ben Pruchnie\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

She then explained that she was still currently working out her dosage, and is currently taking lozenges after previously using IV drips.<\/p>\n

\u2018But we\u2019re just trying to figure out if I need top-ups. I did IV treatments, and for quite a few months, I\u00a0had no dips, and I felt really good. It was the first time I was like, \u201cWow this really works!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Then, after quite a few months, I had a dip and we tried lozenge treatment. It\u2019s kind of the same process, but I didn\u2019t find them as effective because they can\u2019t be as strong,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

\u2018So now I\u2019m doing a course of six IVs to start off. And then we\u2019re going to see how many months it takes for the positive effects to wear off, I suppose. And then I\u2019ll have one every month, every three months, or every six months, like whenever it\u2019s needed.\u2019<\/p>\n

Frankie then highlighted the key issue with this therapy: the cost. She explained that she could afford it, but the life-changing treatment was incredibly expensive.<\/p>\n

The annoying thing about it is, for me,it\u2019s it\u2019s quite life-changing, but it\u2019s not readily available\u00a0and it\u2019s really f*****g expensive. It annoys me because it could help so many people.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018Some people have it and they never need to have it again, or they don\u2019t need to take antidepressants, just so many positive effects from it.\u2019<\/p>\n

She also revealed that she is always accompanied to the appointments, admitting she found it quite \u2018scary\u2019 initially.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Frankie
\n\t\tThe singer was candid with her fans of her YouTube series (Picture: YouTube\/ Frankie Bridge)<\/p>\n

\u2018It is scary. I always have to have someone there, because you have to have that out-of-body experience to fully get the right effects.\u00a0And sometimes I feel like I\u2019m going really far away, and I have a real fear of death, so sometimes it feels like I\u2019m never going to come back, and that can be really scary.<\/p>\n

\u2018So just to have someone there, that I can reach out my hand and they can hold my hand, it\u2019s really grounding. But the more I\u2019ve done it, the less I feel scared of that now, because obviously I know the process.\u2019<\/p>\n

She explained that she wouldn\u2019t film her experience in the office, but returned to camera to tell her audience she had the low-dose treatment and was continuing with her day. <\/p>\n

In 2021, while appearing on I\u2019m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, Frankie detailed how she\u00a0suffered a breakdown at just 21<\/a>, which led to her going to rehab.<\/p>\n

\u2018I was with Wayne, I was able to function at work, but then I\u2019d come home and I couldn\u2019t function. Just cry all the time.\u00a0I didn\u2019t want to be alive anymore, basically,<\/a>\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

In her book Open: Why Asking For Help Can Save Your Life, which was released in 2020, she explained how the hospital stay helped her cope with her mental health issues.<\/p>\n

\u2018There were so many people who had experienced the same feelings as me, if not worse, that I felt understood and not so alone. I no longer had to hide, cover up and lie about how I was,\u2019 she wrote.<\/p>\n

Got a story?<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk<\/a> entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff<\/a> page \u2013 we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n

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