GMU:Immersive Essays/Kristin Jakubek: Difference between revisions

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A-Kristin Jakubek

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-Ketamine is primarily used as an aesthetic but doctors had long been curious about the euphoric effects of Ketamine, because a lot of people who received it when undergoing surgery would start smiling and laughing. ''„That‘s the reason that many people before have said: 'Oh, maybe it can be used for depression'.“ - Alice Levitt for Vox
+Ketamine is primarily used as an aesthetic but doctors had long been curious about the euphoric effects of Ketamine, because a lot of people who received it when undergoing surgery would start smiling and laughing. ''„That‘s the reason that many people before have said: 'Oh, maybe it can be used for depression'.“ - 'I tried ketamine to treat my depression. Within a day, I felt relief.', Alice Levitt for Vox
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 One patient said her experience was guided by the soothing music that was played from headphones during her treatment, the sound shaped the visual and bodily experience.  („A beautiful soundscapes that drove how I felt throughout that whole experience. It just felt like I was floating in this beautiful, enchanting, musical world.“ - Bridget, writer and producer at ‚What‘s Working‘ - source: ‚Ketamine Treatment for Depression: What It‘s Actually Like [Episode 2]‘) This is why all following media in the scene is accompanied by Ana Roxanne's track - 'Immortality'.
+== '''Scene 2''' ==
+As I imagine a therapy patient goes through several phases during his infusion therapy I created a second, more light filled, airy and less claustrophobic phase.
+In both the first and second scene of the VR experience I used a scene from the anime 'Mind Game' by Masaaki Yuasa. In the anime the main character Nishi, dies only to wake up in a black space where he sees his death as a video-recording from enormous screens that surround him from all sides (Inspiration scene 1). Nishi then enters into a completely white space (Inspiration scene 2) where he encounters a figure who keeps changing it‘s appearance. The shape-shifting figure is god, and because Nishi has so many associations of what god might look like the figure remains in flux. Exactly this visual stream of fluctuating association I interpret as a visual representation of Ketamine. In my research I found that one patient described his state as: 'one borderless perceptual hallucination'. This might because Ketamine breaks open connections in the brain, which leads to the brain to form new neural-pathways. This  biochemical process plays with memory and can trigger hallucinations. Additionally scientists found that Ketamine triggers reactions in your cortex that enable brain connections to regrow. However, it is still not fully understood how the drug works to alleviate symptoms of depression.
+[[File:Scent of a flower we have not found 9-218]]
+The treatment space, consisting of a door, a wall that has turned soft and an IV monitor, remains as a remnant of reality. The actions that unfold around the viewer in the form of videos and 3D surrounding symbolises a therapeutic conversation the patient is having with themselves.
+''"And then I was gone, down the rabbit hole of hallucination. My mind skipped though grid-style maps of city parks. I occasionally took a deep breath or wiggled my fingers just to remind myself I still could. I later learned that what I was experiencing is known as a "K-hole," which is rare at the low does I took." - 'I tried ketamine to treat my depression. Within a day, I felt relief.', Alice Levitt for Vox''