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27 Feb 2026 7:52
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  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Frankie Bridge was "terrified" of starting ketamine therapy because she had never taken drugs before

    The former The Saturdays star, 37, has spent years battling mental health problems and she turned to the innovative treatment - which involves the use of controlled, low doses of the dissociative anaesthetic - in a bid to tackle her depression but Frankie admits it was a nerve-wracking experience for her.


    During an appearance on Daily Mail's The Life Of Bryony podcast, she explained: "For about a year I didn't see anybody [for therapy] then I got to a point where I had to pick this back up now, it was like: 'Frank, you're not fixed you need someone to come in'.

    "And I got introduced to this new psychiatrist who does ketamine therapy. It was something me and my old therapist had started to talk about and I was just like you know I've got nothing to lose. I need to try something.

    "I was in this real kind of space where I was starting to go into those patterns of: 'Everyone would be better if I wasn't here anymore, it would be easier. I do all of this hard work and I still end up in the same thought patterns'.

    "And he was like: 'I think you should try it'. I was terrified because I've never taken a drug in my life. For me I'm like taking drugs is, you'll either have a really good night out or you're going to die and I'm just not sure it's worth the risk. So for me it was a really big thing.

    "I remember the first time doing it a few years ago around Christmas time, thinking this is really sad it's got to this point it's nearly Christmas, everyone's sounding happy doing their Christmas shopping and I've worked so hard and I'm not in a position where I'm intravenously put into my body. And I just thought it was sad."

    However, the ketamine therapy was a huge help and Frankie described it as "life-changing".

    She added: "It has probably been one of the most effective treatments that I have had in all these years.

    "It's a funny one because it's about the process of while you're having it because it lowers all of your ego and it puts you into an out of body experience so you're dissociated. So things you've maybe pushed down, things you've never processed before, it gives your brain a chance to process them.

    "Something it feels really dark and sometimes I feel really small but really big at the same time. I can feel like I'm a piece of mud on a shoe and then it'll go really bright and I feel really free.

    "It's a real ride and I always reach the peak where I feel the furthest away and I think "Will I ever come back" so I reach my hand out and the therapist holds me and I know I'm safe ...

    "It's amazing but at the minute it's really expensive and not readily available which is a real shame because it's been life-changing for me."

    © 2026 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

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