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Dysphoria

Risks

A state of unease, discomfort, or dissatisfaction — the opposite of euphoria, and a real risk with some dissociatives and higher doses of certain psychedelics, distinct from a full "bad trip" (see entry above).

Example: Dysphoria and dissociation are common enough side effects in ketamine-for-depression trials that researchers track them on a standardized scale throughout every infusion, specifically to separate the drug's antidepressant effect from its dissociative one.

What is dysphoria?

A state of unease, discomfort, or dissatisfaction — the opposite of euphoria, and a real risk with some dissociatives and higher doses of certain psychedelics, distinct from a full "bad trip."

How do researchers track dysphoria in ketamine trials?

Dysphoria and dissociation are common enough side effects in ketamine-for-depression trials that researchers track them on a standardized scale throughout every infusion, specifically to separate the drug's antidepressant effect from its dissociative one.