Nearly half of patients on all types of monoaminergic antidepressants report emotional blunting,6 and it is associated with serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) therapy as follows: among 161 patients, 46% reported a narrowed range of affect, 21% reported an inability to cry, and 19% reported apathy.
On antidepressant medication, it is possible that you might experience a sense of feeling numb and less like yourself. Though the symptoms of depression have decreased, there may be a sense that other emotional responses – laughing or crying, for example – are more difficult to experience.
When first starting antidepressants, you may not feel like yourself. Though your depression symptoms might have improved, feelings of extreme sadness can sometimes be replaced by an emotional numbness in which you are neither able to cry nor enjoy a real belly laugh. If you feel this way, you are definitely not alone.
We have reported 7 cases in which patients treated with a diverse range of SSRIs presented with an inability to cry after several weeks of treatment, even when distressed and in situation which would normally lead to crying.
Emotional blunting is also considered a potential side effect of antidepressants, in particular SSRI antidepressants, and has been reported in multiple case reports and clinical studies.
The primary effect of SSRIs is reduced processing of negative stimuli rather than increased positive stimuli. Emotional blunting is related to SSRI dose,9,10 and possibly serotonergic effects on the frontal lobes and/or serotonergic modulation of midbrain dopaminergic systems projecting to the prefrontal cortex (PFC).
The inability to cry can have numerous possible causes. Antidepressants, depression, trauma, personality factors, social stigma, and certain medical conditions can all inhibit us from tearing up. Fortunately, many of the reasons we can't cry can be successfully treated and reversed.
One of the widely-reported side effects of SSRIs is 'blunting', where patients report feeling emotionally dull and no longer finding things as pleasurable as they used to. Between 40-60% of patients taking SSRIs are believed to experience this side effect.
“Higher serotonin levels lead to less crying.”
There's a paradoxical period when a person first starts an antidepressant: they may actually begin to feel worse before feeling better. The underlying cause of this phenomenon is a bit of a mystery, but a new study from researchers at Otto-von-Guericke University in Germany explains why this might occur.
Paroxetine had a significant inhibitory effect on crying. During both films, the paroxetine group cried significantly less than the placebo group. In contrast, no effects on mood and only minor effects on the reaction to the IAPS pictures were observed.
They often change their minds, and their feelings might be contradictory. Some people also worry that taking medication for a psychological problem means that they aren't "normal." But there's no reason to be ashamed of taking medication for mental health problems, just as it's not an issue for physical illnesses.
There is new reason to be cautious about using popular antidepressants in people who are not really depressed. For the first time, research has shown that a widely used antidepressant may cause subtle changes in brain structure and function when taken by those who are not depressed.
Because SSRIs cause more serotonin to remain in circulation in the brain, the individual experiences less depressive symptoms. In fact, many people report feeling completely back to normal when taking these medications.
Antidepressants don't just treat depression–they can make us more sociable, too.
Emotional blunting can be temporary, lasting from a few minutes to a few hours at a time. It can also occur over the long term, from months to years. It all depends on the underlying cause. Experiencing emotional blunting may affect your relationships and how you feel about yourself and the world.
Emotional symptoms associated with low serotonin include: Social withdrawal. Sadness and frequent crying spells. Low self-esteem and self-confidence.
What Are The Symptoms of Serotonin Deficiency? You may have a shortage of serotonin if you have a sad depressed mood, low energy, negative thoughts, feel tense and irritable, crave sweets, and have a reduced interest in sex. Other serotonin-related disorders include: Depression.
Some data suggest that SSRIs may also lessen negativity by calming the amygdala, a brain region that governs fear, among other emotions.
Common side effects of SSRIs can include: feeling agitated, shaky or anxious. diarrhoea and feeling or being sick. dizziness.
Taking antidepressants may help to lift your mood. This can help you feel more able to do things that don't feel possible while you're depressed. This may include using other types of support for your mental health.
Key points. Many cannot weep because they do not feel anything. This is a form of melancholic depression. Those in the depths of melancholia can still be rational and continue their daily activities.
This is known as anhedonia. Similar to melancholia, anhedonia can reduce your ability or inclination to express how you feel — including through crying. Reaching that emotional peak might be difficult or impossible for people with depression.