looking for first and second-person accounts of ssri effects

[WiseOne]

I know there is a lot of literature on what SSRIs do. However, I am more interested in what they do at the first-person "phenomenological" level, ie. what is it like to be on them?

I'm also interested in accounts written from the "second person" perspective..from the perspective of a friend/family member/therapist. ie. what do they seem to do from the perspective of someone who has watched someone else go on them?

I hope that makes sense. Basically I know a lot about SSRIs from a third-person scientific perspective but not a lot about what they do at the level of subjective experience and what they seem to do from the perspective of someone else. For example, since Hippocrates there have been many accounts of what melancholy looks like from the perspective of an observer and many accounts about what it feels like from the perspective of people experiencing it. So..basically just looking for that type of reading but in regards to SSRIs. Listening to Prozac was a good second-person account, so perhaps looking for more reading like that in addition to some first-person accounts. Thanks!

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[Shikima]

It's pretty easy to tell you and summed up as such; I'm not depressed or anxious.
Now I can begin the hard work of being in psychotherapy.

 

[Ceke2002]

I know there is a lot of literature on what SSRIs do. However, I am more interested in what they do at the first-person "phenomenological" level, ie. what is it like to be on them?

I'm also interested in accounts written from the "second person" perspective..from the perspective of a friend/family member/therapist. ie. what do they seem to do from the perspective of someone who has watched someone else go on them?

I hope that makes sense. Basically I know a lot about SSRIs from a third-person scientific perspective but not a lot about what they do at the level of subjective experience and what they seem to do from the perspective of someone else. For example, since Hippocrates there have been many accounts of what melancholy looks like from the perspective of an observer and many accounts about what it feels like from the perspective of people experiencing it. So..basically just looking for that type of reading but in regards to SSRIs. Listening to Prozac was a good second-person account, so perhaps looking for more reading like that in addition to some first-person accounts. Thanks!

Just SRRI's? Or are you interested in first hand experiences with ADs in general? I'd be more than happy to give a first hand account of when AD medication therapy has worked well, and what that felt like, but specifically in terms of SSRI's (and SNRI's) my experiences have been more along the lines of 'halp, halp! get me off of this stuff'.

 

[pms_testosterone]

Check Erowid, they have tons of first-hand stories. Erowid SSRI Vault

 

[singasongofjoy]

Check Erowid, they have tons of first-hand stories. Erowid SSRI Vault

yes- although important to note many of the experiences you will find there will NOT be accounts of using therapeutically as prescribed, so OP should keep that in mind

 

[Shikima]

The day neurochemistry can be figured out with a blood test, we'll be out of a job. It won't be long before they can figure out the effects from medications and dosage necessary to create a "stable" neural milieu.

I predict you'll sick your arm in a hole, a robot will draw up the blood, analyze it and dispense medications on the spot.

Question is; will therapy still be necessary?

 

[smalltownpsych]

The day neurochemistry can be figured out with a blood test, we'll be out of a job. It won't be long before they can figure out the effects from medications and dosage necessary to create a "stable" neural milieu.

I predict you'll sick your arm in a hole, a robot will draw up the blood, analyze it and dispense medications on the spot.

Question is; will therapy still be necessary?

Are you being facetious? What exactly is a stable neural milieu? Also, how do we control the environment which is always messing with that stable neural milieu and then we have to take into account the individuals who want their neural milieu to be more optimal than the next guy? I see neurochemistry as only one part of the equation and experiences, cognitive styles and abilities, temperament, and behavior are all part of it. Psychotherapy addresses more of the equation. Social change is another big component as we are all part of one big dysfunctional family characterized by a high degree of splitting. Not sure what this has to do with the OP, but I do like tangents. You should see me when I am lecturing.

 

[Shikima]

Are you being facetious? What exactly is a stable neural milieu? Also, how do we control the environment which is always messing with that stable neural milieu and then we have to take into account the individuals who want their neural milieu to be more optimal than the next guy? I see neurochemistry as only one part of the equation and experiences, cognitive styles and abilities, temperament, and behavior are all part of it. Psychotherapy addresses more of the equation. Social change is another big component as we are all part of one big dysfunctional family characterized by a high degree of splitting. Not sure what this has to do with the OP, but I do like tangents. You should see me when I am lecturing.

Heart and Kidney's are tinker toys. Once the technology has been invented to sufficiently study and map out the brain, it won't be a mystery any longer.

It'll take about 200 years to come to this. Don't worry.

 

[singasongofjoy]

I know there is a lot of literature on what SSRIs do. However, I am more interested in what they do at the first-person "phenomenological" level, ie. what is it like to be on them?

I'm also interested in accounts written from the "second person" perspective..from the perspective of a friend/family member/therapist. ie. what do they seem to do from the perspective of someone who has watched someone else go on them?

I hope that makes sense. Basically I know a lot about SSRIs from a third-person scientific perspective but not a lot about what they do at the level of subjective experience and what they seem to do from the perspective of someone else. For example, since Hippocrates there have been many accounts of what melancholy looks like from the perspective of an observer and many accounts about what it feels like from the perspective of people experiencing it. So..basically just looking for that type of reading but in regards to SSRIs. Listening to Prozac was a good second-person account, so perhaps looking for more reading like that in addition to some first-person accounts. Thanks!

Why SSRIs in particular? Not SNRIs, NDRIs?

 

[WiseOne]

Why SSRIs in particular? Not SNRIs, NDRIs?

No reason, I'm interested in experiences from use of any antidepressant. I don't want to group them all under the same label though because they all work differently and therefore probably have different effects subjectively. So TCA/MAOI/SNRI/NDRI I'm also interested in, but knowing the type of antidepressant may help me better associate certain mechanisms of action with specific phenomenological states.

 

[Shikima]

No reason, I'm interested in experiences from use of any antidepressant. I don't want to group them all under the same label though because they all work differently and therefore probably have different effects subjectively. So TCA/MAOI/SNRI/NDRI I'm also interested in, but knowing the type of antidepressant may help me better associate certain mechanisms of action with specific phenomenological states.

Can't account for this with today's technology to any degree of accuracy. You can find common themes in people so when you do prescribe it and side effects do develop, you can educate your patients on what to expect and they will remain compliant with the medications.

 

[Amygdarya]

I know there is a lot of literature on what SSRIs do. However, I am more interested in what they do at the first-person "phenomenological" level, ie. what is it like to be on them?

I'm also interested in accounts written from the "second person" perspective..from the perspective of a friend/family member/therapist. ie. what do they seem to do from the perspective of someone who has watched someone else go on them?

I hope that makes sense. Basically I know a lot about SSRIs from a third-person scientific perspective but not a lot about what they do at the level of subjective experience and what they seem to do from the perspective of someone else. For example, since Hippocrates there have been many accounts of what melancholy looks like from the perspective of an observer and many accounts about what it feels like from the perspective of people experiencing it. So..basically just looking for that type of reading but in regards to SSRIs. Listening to Prozac was a good second-person account, so perhaps looking for more reading like that in addition to some first-person accounts. Thanks!

Check out Kramer's book "Listening to prozac".

 

[WiseOne]

Check out Kramer's book "Listening to prozac".

already alluded to that book in my post

 

[chocomorsel]

Hmm, anxiety dissapearead, I was a lot less moody and labile, I was very unaffected by things that normally pissed me off or annoyed me, maybe slightly happier, but honestly I am an anxious and not a depressed person, I had less desire to drink. All good things.

Now the bad things. I experienced very vivid dreams and nightmares that made me not want to go to sleep at times, I experienced anorgasmia, and had the physical inability to cry, on the rare ocassion I was moved to cry. So weird.

I got off them because once residency was done and the abuse ended, my anxiety diminished greatly and also I really got tired of having vivid nightmares. That last part was horrible and scary as ****.

 

[NickNaylor]

I took escitalopram for about 6 months due to anxiety in medical school.

I really didn't notice much of a difference in any way apart from the fact that my anxiety completely dissipated. I was a little tired during the day, but nothing problematic or that interfered significantly with my work. Apart from "sexual dysfunction" I had zero side effects.

Overall, 10/10 would do again.

 

[smalltownpsych]

My wife took buproprion as an aid ti quit smoking. She wanted to quit because she was becoming more anxious and her anxiety was making her think that she might get cancer or maybe already had it even. She likes to say that after taking the bupropion the anxiety about cancer went away and she no longer felt the need to quit smoking. True story. She did eventually quit smoking because of the very rational fears of major health problems.

 

[LLCoolK]

Heart and Kidney's are tinker toys. Once the technology has been invented to sufficiently study and map out the brain, it won't be a mystery any longer.

It'll take about 200 years to come to this. Don't worry.

Even if it wouldn't be a mystery, it doesn't mean we'll have effective treatments. The brain is so complex and psychiatric diseases most likely involves so many different regions/neurons/connections in the brain. We still won't be one pill away. People said the same thing about genetic testing, and that still hasn't amounted anything in regards to treatment.

 

[pizzicarella]

Antidepressants have been problematic for me as I have a BPAD I diagnosis. My first experience with an antidepressant was with fluoxetine when I was about sixteen and it initially made me agitated, and within a month of being on it I experienced a mixed episode. I didn't receive a bipolar diagnosis at that point, and I had another trial of antidepressant monotherapy (escitalopram) with very little effect besides increased agitation about a year later. In my late teens I started to have obvious manic episodes requiring hospitalisation and continued to have the severe depressive episodes too. Meds were a little bit trial of error for a couple of years, and lithium was off the table because I was scared of it's toxicity in overdose, so eventually I was on 1000mg sodium valproate BD and 600mg quetiapine with good effect and was stable for about six years up until when I wanted to have a family. I chose to be unmedicated during pregnancy - however I did become depressed and requested monotherapy, so we started mirtazapine which was an amazing drug for me. I became well, had no symptoms that even hinted towards "mood destabilisation," and the drug response was fairly quick at about two weeks. I stayed on it for four months and then tapered down so I was off of it at 36 weeks. I commenced quetiapine at 600mg immediately post birth, but unfortunately did become psychotic (and manic) in the postnatal period and didn't respond to medication very much at all, so ended up having ECT (which was also an amazing treatment for me).

I have access to several databases through work, and a very quick search came up with these which you might find useful if you can gain access (I was able to get on through CINAHL)

Johnston, BJ 2013, 'The role of patient experience and its influence on adherence to antidepressant treatment', Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, vol. 51, no. 12, pp. 29-37.

Ridge, D, Kokanovic, R, Broom, A, Kirkpatrick, S, Anderson, C & Tanner, C 2015, '"My dirty little habit": Patient constructions of antidepressant use and the ‘crisis’ of legitimacy', Social Science & Medicine, vol. 146, no. 1, pp. 53-61.