SSRIs and emotional blunting

[Slough Walker]

I recently learned about the side effect of "emotional blunting" when taking SSRIs such as Zoloft and Lexapro for anxiety and depression. It's been described as a sort of numbing of the full emotional range, or feeling robotic. At the same time, this emotional blunting often is accompanied by a welcome reduction in symptoms of anxiety and depression: Less irritability, better sleep, less frequent suicidal ideation, etc. Has anyone experienced this emotional blunting on SSRIs? If so, have you also gotten the beneficial reduction in anxiety and depression symptoms? Is the trade off worth it overall? Also, have you found the "magic" level for your physiology that best balances emotional blunting and positive effects?

 

[ForgottenAgain]

I don't know if I have this, I did take Zoloft for almost 5 years, then skip almost ten years and I took it again for 5 months. 200mg both times.

What I felt was that I wouldn't feel happy, would be in a numb state or in a sad/depressed state. It made it harder to cry but the deep sadness was still there.

Being off it, I feel neutral or sad/depressed. It is easier to feel gratification from watching a nice movie or small things like that. I don't know if it's because of the meds or it is just me but I have a very hard time feeling happy.

 

[derpyderpins]

I recently learned about the side effect of "emotional blunting" when taking SSRIs such as Zoloft and Lexapro for anxiety and depression. It's been described as a sort of numbing of the full emotional range, or feeling robotic. At the same time, this emotional blunting often is accompanied by a welcome reduction in symptoms of anxiety and depression: Less irritability, better sleep, less frequent suicidal ideation, etc. Has anyone experienced this emotional blunting on SSRIs? If so, have you also gotten the beneficial reduction in anxiety and depression symptoms? Is the trade off worth it overall? Also, have you found the "magic" level for your physiology that best balances emotional blunting and positive effects?

It's hard to say what's a side-effect, what's the medicine working, and what is the result of years and years of constant anxiety and depression and finally hitting a wall, but since getting on prozac about ~2 years ago, my emotional range has lessened, and that has largely been a good thing. I was past the point where I was ever going to be a success for something fun or creative that required me to keep my personality intact. I'm still constantly anxious, but don't really have panic attacks. I also and much slower to anger. It comes with not feeling joy the same way.

SNRIs absolutely did not work for me and just made me more anxious and jittery.

 

[ferrie]

I was on Lexapro for a couple years & did not enjoy it. While I was on it, really the only emotion I could feel was anxiety. I did like how I felt on Zoloft though. I had pretty severe emotional blurting from it & seemed pretty robotic, but I enjoyed it. It was a lot of relief from how heightened my anxiety and depression had gotten. It was honestly the best I have ever felt on any psych meds. Now I'm on buspar, remeron, & lithium, and I don't feel like my symptoms are managed at all compared to the Zoloft

 

[AbandonedApe]

I was on Lexapro for 3 months and it mainly just seemed to numb positive emotions. I couldn't feel pleasure or happiness. On the flip side I felt more depressed on it, and Lexapro is actually what actually caused me to develop suicidal ideation again and end up on this forum when I hadn't considered suicide in almost a year prior to starting it. I'm now a month off it and the suicidal thoughts are mostly (90%) gone, though not entirely. It was not a good med for me at all.

 

[nightlygem]

Actually, I've dealt with this issue even on Prozac. The addition of a mood stabilizer later in life magically got me feeling a decent range of emotions again, but I went a solid year of complete emotional numbness when just taking Prozac. It really does suck, because it makes you think that you being medicated and feeling like this is "normal" and "how everyone is supposed to feel", which in turn makes you hate the med and eventually stop taking it.
One time, I went a few weeks without Prozac once just to feel something, anything. Unfortunately, those emotions were so strong that it drove me to attempt to ctb and got myself sent to a psych hospital. Since then, I haven't stopped taking Prozac and have been on it for almost 4 years.

 

[Slough Walker]

I was on Lexapro for 3 months and it mainly just seemed to numb positive emotions. I couldn't feel pleasure or happiness. On the flip side I felt more depressed on it, and Lexapro is actually what actually caused me to develop suicidal ideation again and end up on this forum when I hadn't considered suicide in almost a year prior to starting it. I'm now a month off it and the suicidal thoughts are mostly (90%) gone, though not entirely. It was not a good med for me at all.

Do you think that another SSRI such as Zoloft might have been more helpful?

Actually, I've dealt with this issue even on Prozac. The addition of a mood stabilizer later in life magically got me feeling a decent range of emotions again, but I went a solid year of complete emotional numbness when just taking Prozac. It really does suck, because it makes you think that you being medicated and feeling like this is "normal" and "how everyone is supposed to feel", which in turn makes you hate the med and eventually stop taking it.
One time, I went a few weeks without Prozac once just to feel something, anything. Unfortunately, those emotions were so strong that it drove me to attempt to ctb and got myself sent to a psych hospital. Since then, I haven't stopped taking Prozac and have been on it for almost 4 years.

What was the mood stabilizer?

 

[Felodese]

All SSRI I've tried have blunted my emotions. All emotions. So in that sense they did reduce the negative feelings - which is nice in the beginning, untill you realize you can't feel any other feelings either. Being emotionally numb and just feeling completely empty and dead inside was not exactly curing my depression. I just felt like shit in a different way.