Posted by SLS on March 26, 2013, at 7:26:06
In reply to SSRI's and numbed emotions, posted by poser938 on March 25, 2013, at 22:34:26
> I'm thinking of trying asn SSRI again (zoloft) and have been wondering about the effect of when they can numb your emotions. They've done this to me before. This usually sets in after as few weeks and I'm wondering if this effect goes away with continued taking of the ssri? Is this just part of the ntidepressant effect?
I can say with confidence that the emotional numbing you experience with some SSRIs is not the antidepressant effect you should be looking for. Some people who have become cynical of the effectiveness of antidepressants espouse the notion that the numbness produced by SSRIs mutes emotional upset and thereby reduces a depressive thinking and emotional reactions to psychosocial stress. When an antidepressant works, the improvement in mental state produced is broad and pronounced. The features of depression that are improved include anergia, anhedonia, anxiety, psychomotor retardation or agitation, cognitive slowing, memory impairments, depressed mood, sadness, lack of interest and motivation, reduced libido, emotional blunting, flat affect, fatigue, muscle weakness, hypersomnia or insomnia, guilt, changes in appetite, irritability, indecisiveness, ruminating, difficulty concentrating, suicidality, etc.
My experience with SSRIs is that I am not universally affected by them with respect to experiencing the side effects of blunted emotions and apathy. Lexapro and Zoloft were worse for me than Prozac and Paxil. You might be affected in an opposite manner. I had none of these side effects with the SNRIs (Effexor, Pristiq, Cymbalta, Savella). I was also free of these side effects when taking Viibryd.
- ScottSome see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.- George Bernard Shaw
poster:SLS
thread:1041092
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20130322/msgs/1041111.html