NICK

Age: 25 | USA

“I began taking antidepressants because of my anxiety disorder. I've been off medications since October 18, 2022, however PSSD symptoms began after my first attempt at stopping the medication in 2020.

This was when I learned about PSSD, I was trying to figure out why, for the first time ever, my libido had substantially dropped. The symptoms never went away and instead got worse upon reinstatement of my medication 6 months later in 2021.

Since then, symptoms have worsened even more. I'm off of Trintellix today in the hopes that my body can recover on its own given enough time, as some sufferers have been lucky enough to escape this hole with time. Others have it indefinitely.

While on the medication, I had no issues and I always say that they helped me a lot to deal with my anxiety issues.

I quit because I made the decision to see how I could handle being off of them after being in a much better spot in life. After all, I could just go back on them with no issues if I needed to, right?

Wrong. Here I am today, practically unable to feel the feelings of excitement, of love, of joy, sadness, every emotion. I also experience the common PSSD symptom of numb genitalia, where in my case everything just feels like the back of my hand.

Looking at members of the opposite sex evokes almost no emotion any more. I never experienced any of this before I ever took this medication. My quality of life has been destroyed because there is quite literally no more enjoyment to be had out of life.

This community gives me the power to push on, I'd be lost without them. We have been harmed. We desperately need more research into PSSD. We need a cure.”