I think many will dismiss this as impossible or overblown, but I promise you these harms are hiding in plain sight.
I went on high doses of antidepressants in middle school and I wasn't informed about any side effects. I was old enough to have some level of attraction and sexuality, but not old enough to have fully developed in that way.
I think many will dismiss this as impossible or overblown, but I promise you these harms are hiding in plain sight.
I went on high doses of antidepressants in middle school and I wasn't informed about any side effects. I was old enough to have some level of attraction and sexuality, but not old enough to have fully developed in that way.
Over the next few years of high school, everything basically vanished. By 19 or 20, I could no longer experience attraction or sexual function at all. Again, I had never heard of sexual issues or emotional blunting from meds. I assumed that eventually I would meet someone and the spark would return, but it never did.
By 23, I was getting scared. I decided that I would likely have to accept that I had become asexual, and there was nothing I could do about it. When asked about Depression by a psychiatrist, I told him I was depressed because I thought I was asexual and I didn't want to be. He laughed and said that was statistically very unlikely, but he did not tell me that my medication could be causing this problem.
Time went on and I became further disabled by the meds. I had gained a lot of weight, I slept 12-15 hours a day, I thought about food all of the time, my hands shook, my mouth was dry, etc. I assumed these issues were unique to me. I attributed them to character flaws, mental illness, and health issues.
By 28, I realized I had never been helped by medication and I no longer had faith in the system. I came off my antidepressants. Many issues like my weight and sleep have improved, but my sexuality has never returned.
I'm in my 30s now, and I only found out about the asexuality link with antidepressants due to a tweet by Dr. McFillin. I felt physically sick reading it and realizing what happened to me. This tweet prompted me to start Googling and I discovered PSSD.
Over the years, I can count on a single hand the amount of times I tried to address this subject. How was I supposed to explain it when I didn't understand it myself? Doctors think PSSD isn't real, but it's simply that many of us aren't telling.
I'm starting to think there are a lot of people like me out there. For example, my friend is in her 40s and has never been interested in sex/dating. She went on meds as a teen and plans to remain on them for life.
It is unacceptable that there has been little attention given to this topic. I see this issue getting worse until someone decides to step in and demand that we re-evaluate prescribing psychiatric medications to developing brains.
I think many will dismiss this as impossible or overblown, but I promise you these harms are hiding in plain sight.
I went on high doses of antidepressants in middle school and I wasn't informed about any side effects. I was old enough to have some level of attraction and sexuality, but not old enough to have fully developed in that way.
Over the next few years of high school, everything basically vanished. By 19 or 20, I could no longer experience attraction or sexual function at all. Again, I had never heard of sexual issues or emotional blunting from meds. I assumed that eventually I would meet someone and the spark would return, but it never did.
By 23, I was getting scared. I decided that I would likely have to accept that I had become asexual, and there was nothing I could do about it. When asked about Depression by a psychiatrist, I told him I was depressed because I thought I was asexual and I didn't want to be. He laughed and said that was statistically very unlikely, but he did not tell me that my medication could be causing this problem.
Time went on and I became further disabled by the meds. I had gained a lot of weight, I slept 12-15 hours a day, I thought about food all of the time, my hands shook, my mouth was dry, etc. I assumed these issues were unique to me. I attributed them to character flaws, mental illness, and health issues.
By 28, I realized I had never been helped by medication and I no longer had faith in the system. I came off my antidepressants. Many issues like my weight and sleep have improved, but my sexuality has never returned.
I'm in my 30s now, and I only found out about the asexuality link with antidepressants due to a tweet by Dr. McFillin. I felt physically sick reading it and realizing what happened to me. This tweet prompted me to start Googling and I discovered PSSD.
Over the years, I can count on a single hand the amount of times I tried to address this subject. How was I supposed to explain it when I didn't understand it myself? Doctors think PSSD isn't real, but it's simply that many of us aren't telling.
I'm starting to think there are a lot of people like me out there. For example, my friend is in her 40s and has never been interested in sex/dating. She went on meds as a teen and plans to remain on them for life.
It is unacceptable that there has been little attention given to this topic. I see this issue getting worse until someone decides to step in and demand that we re-evaluate prescribing psychiatric medications to developing brains.