Depression affects far more than just mood. It influences energy, motivation, sleep, daily routines – and the way you eat. One of the diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder is a marked increase or decrease in appetite nearly every day.
While some individuals with depression are completely lacking in appetite, others may find themselves turning to food for emotional comfort, often unconsciously. That’s a pattern known as emotional eating, and it can spiral into overeating, weight gain, and ultimately, worsening mental health.
Understanding and interrupting this cycle is critical for long-term recovery. For those stuck in a loop of depression and emotional eating, ketamine therapy may offer a new path forward.
A long-term study found that emotional eating is a key behavioral link between depression and weight gain. Over a seven-year period, adults who engaged in emotional eating – particularly those with short sleep duration – experienced greater increases in both body mass index and waist circumference. It’s a vicious circle: depression fuels emotional eating, and the physical consequences of overeating make depression harder to treat.
This treatment gap has left many patients in need of a more effective solution, one that can rapidly improve mood while also supporting healthier behaviors.
Ketamine can be administered in several ways. They include intravenous (IV) infusion and a nasal spray called Spravato, a form of ketamine known as esketamine that’s FDA-approved for treatment-resistant depression.
Critically, ketamine’s effects extend to the same brain regions involved in reward, impulse control, and executive function. These are the very systems that drive emotional eating behaviors. By helping patients regain motivation, reduce emotional numbness, and engage more actively in self-care, ketamine therapy may indirectly improve eating patterns and minimize reliance on food for emotional comfort.
In fact, early clinical reports suggest ketamine can reduce obsessive food-related thoughts and compulsive binge behaviors. A case study published in Brain Sciences described a woman with extreme bulimia who achieved complete and sustained remission after undergoing repeated ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. Her binge-purge episodes, which had reached 40 times per day, were eliminated entirely. The astonishing outcome is attributed to both ketamine’s neurobiological effects and the integration therapy that followed.
Early research suggests ketamine may reduce neuroinflammation, an important but often overlooked factor that contributes both to depression and to metabolic dysfunction. Inflammation has been shown to disrupt mood-regulating brain circuits while also interfering with insulin sensitivity, appetite signals, and energy metabolism. This shared biological pathway helps explain why depression and weight gain so often co-occur. By interrupting inflammatory processes, ketamine may help restore both emotional balance and metabolic regulation, supporting healthier eating patterns.
For those caught in the cycle of depression and emotional eating, ketamine is a treatment that can finally offer hope and healing.
While some individuals with depression are completely lacking in appetite, others may find themselves turning to food for emotional comfort, often unconsciously. That’s a pattern known as emotional eating, and it can spiral into overeating, weight gain, and ultimately, worsening mental health.
Understanding and interrupting this cycle is critical for long-term recovery. For those stuck in a loop of depression and emotional eating, ketamine therapy may offer a new path forward.
Depression and the Drive to Eat
Emotional eating is not a lack of self-control, it’s a form of coping. In a state of depression, the brain’s reward system struggles to produce enough dopamine, the chemical linked to motivation and pleasure. High-fat, high-sugar foods provide a temporary dopamine boost, which is what causes the infamous bouts of craving. But the relief is short-lived. Over time, emotional eating can lead to nutritional imbalances, disrupted metabolic health, and significant weight gain. All of these further reduce energy, impair sleep, and make managing depression even more difficult.A long-term study found that emotional eating is a key behavioral link between depression and weight gain. Over a seven-year period, adults who engaged in emotional eating – particularly those with short sleep duration – experienced greater increases in both body mass index and waist circumference. It’s a vicious circle: depression fuels emotional eating, and the physical consequences of overeating make depression harder to treat.
For Some, Traditional Treatments Fall Short
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), the most common antidepressants, can help reduce depressive symptoms. For those suffering from what’s known as treatment-resistant depression, these medications fall short. And for others, testing their way through a series of SSRIs can be an excruciating, month-long or even year-long process. Some antidepressants even have increased appetite and weight gain as side effects, which can exacerbate the problem.This treatment gap has left many patients in need of a more effective solution, one that can rapidly improve mood while also supporting healthier behaviors.
Ketamine: A New Tool for Breaking the Cycle
Ketamine, originally developed as an anesthetic, has emerged as a powerful therapy for depression and other mental disorders. Unlike SSRIs, which target serotonin, ketamine works on the brain’s glutamate system, specifically by blocking NMDA receptors. This action leads to rapid improvements in mood and supports the growth of new neural connections, enhancing cognitive flexibility and emotional regulation.Ketamine can be administered in several ways. They include intravenous (IV) infusion and a nasal spray called Spravato, a form of ketamine known as esketamine that’s FDA-approved for treatment-resistant depression.
Critically, ketamine’s effects extend to the same brain regions involved in reward, impulse control, and executive function. These are the very systems that drive emotional eating behaviors. By helping patients regain motivation, reduce emotional numbness, and engage more actively in self-care, ketamine therapy may indirectly improve eating patterns and minimize reliance on food for emotional comfort.
In fact, early clinical reports suggest ketamine can reduce obsessive food-related thoughts and compulsive binge behaviors. A case study published in Brain Sciences described a woman with extreme bulimia who achieved complete and sustained remission after undergoing repeated ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. Her binge-purge episodes, which had reached 40 times per day, were eliminated entirely. The astonishing outcome is attributed to both ketamine’s neurobiological effects and the integration therapy that followed.
A Window for Change
The key strength of ketamine lies in its ability to open a “therapeutic window” – a period during which patients feel emotional relief and increased mental clarity. When combined with psychotherapy, this window can be used to identify triggers for emotional eating, reset unhelpful thought patterns, and build long-term coping strategies.Early research suggests ketamine may reduce neuroinflammation, an important but often overlooked factor that contributes both to depression and to metabolic dysfunction. Inflammation has been shown to disrupt mood-regulating brain circuits while also interfering with insulin sensitivity, appetite signals, and energy metabolism. This shared biological pathway helps explain why depression and weight gain so often co-occur. By interrupting inflammatory processes, ketamine may help restore both emotional balance and metabolic regulation, supporting healthier eating patterns.
Moving Toward Healing
Ketamine therapy is not a magic bullet, but it can be a powerful catalyst. By reducing depressive symptoms quickly, it helps patients regain the energy, motivation, and calm needed to make lasting changes. In this way, ketamine therapy does much more than treat mood symptoms: It can help patients re-engage with life, including healthier eating habits, exercise, and a structured daily routine.For those caught in the cycle of depression and emotional eating, ketamine is a treatment that can finally offer hope and healing.
