this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2024
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Mental Health

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Do you think SSRIs are a good idea? (lemmy.world)
submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by Psychonometry@lemmy.world to c/mentalhealth@lemmy.world
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Mild NSFW warning: this post mentions sexual side effects of medication.

SSRIs are the most common type of antidepressant (examples are Prozac/fluoxetine, Zoloft/sertraline, Paxil/paroxetine).

If you have experience with them, do you think they're a good idea?

I came across a paper about side effects which I haven't heard discussed before. Many people know that SSRIs have sexual effects, but apparently they also affect fertility.

This paper describes SSRIs as "gonadotoxic", leading to effects like "decreased sperm concentration and motility, increased [DNA] fragmentation, and decreased reproductive organ weights".

The paper does say "this effect does seem to be reversible", so if you stop SSRIs, your sex organs should apparently go back to normal. But still, some people are on SSRIs for long periods of time, right?

I would be interested to hear others' thoughts, if you have any.

Edit: Thanks for the replies to this post, they're interesting.

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[–] intensely_human@lemm.ee 1 points 4 months ago

I think the main benefit of drugs is making new states of mind known, so they can later be sought organically.

One of my teachers said it’s like climbing a mountain in a rainstorm, and then suddenly there’s a flash of lightning and you see the whole mountain for a moment.

SSRIs and other antidepressants are good for people who’ve forgotten what it’s like to be at ease, who’ve been in the shit for so long that they don’t have any mental connection to a world outside of the shit any longer.

Then you just force the serotonin activity up, and this reintroduces the person to a better life. They can stay there for a while and become acquainted with it. It can give them a reason to try.