Some people may notice no change from taking medication for depression, while others may report feeling emotionally blunted. They may no longer report feeling the low and down feelings linked to depression, but may also have trouble feeling the happiness and comfort other people feel.
You may feel some depression symptoms improve within the first couple weeks, but it can often take 4 to 8 weeks to feel the full effects of your medication. If you've taken your antidepressant for at least 4 weeks with no improvement, let your healthcare provider know.
When first starting antidepressants, you may suddenly find that you don't feel like yourself anymore. Though your depression symptoms may have improved, the overwhelming waves of gloom can sometimes be replaced by an emotional inertness in which are neither able to cry nor share a real belly laugh.
When you're benefiting from antidepressants, you should feel: A mood that is less depressed, less irritable, happier, and more content. Excitement for and pleasure in everyday activities and events. An ability to regulate your eating patterns without eating too much or too little.
For most people, antidepressants are the main cause of emotional blunting. In most cases, feelings of numbness go away when you stop taking the antidepressant that is causing you to feel this way.
As it is with any medication, antidepressants can have side effects, including the possibility of what is termed “emotional blunting.” According to studies, nearly half of people taking antidepressants at some point experience emotional blunting from antidepressants.
In terms of how they make a person feel, antidepressants may have a number of positive effects. “The person taking the antidepressant has increased energy and is calmer,” Dr. McGee says. “They have improved motivation and their sleep and appetite are better regulated.
If you feel like your antidepressant has stopped working, you're not alone. It's common for a medication that once worked wonders to become ineffective, especially if you've been taking it for a long time. Symptoms return for up to 33% of people using antidepressants — it's called breakthrough depression.
About half of users who take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) report a sense of emotional blunting, a psychic flatness that limits their emotional range, particularly their ability to experience positive feelings like pleasure and joy.
Most antidepressants take one to two weeks to start working. But you might feel some benefits sooner than this, such as improved sleep. Speak to your doctor if you don't feel any benefit after taking an antidepressant regularly for two to four weeks, or if you feel worse.
The Evidence for Personality Changes
Study authors suggested that the SSRI may have altered two key personality traits linked to depression—neuroticism and extroversion—independently of their effect on depression symptoms.
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.
Antidepressants Are Effective
Any benefits of medication have to surpass that of the “placebo effect” to be declared effective. Antidepressants are proven to be more effective than a placebo with respect to relieving depressive symptoms and shortening the length of a depressive episode.
Some side effects are serious. If you have any of these symptoms, tell your doctor right away: Thoughts about or attempts at suicide. More feelings of depression and anxiety.
The side effects of antidepressants can cause problems at first, but they generally improve with time. It's important to continue treatment, even if you're affected by side effects, as it will take several weeks before you begin to benefit from treatment.
Side effects should improve within a few days or weeks of treatment, as the body gets used to the medicine. Read more about: possible side effects of antidepressants.
Because incrementally raising the dose requires additional time, the full benefits of antidepressants may take longer than 4-6 weeks to become apparent if the dose needs to be increased.
Some antidepressants can also cause feelings of agitation, restlessness and detachment. These feelings may resemble symptoms of anxiety and may add to, rather than relieve, feelings of hopelessness and despair. Some people may become suicidal or violent.
Antidepressants don't just treat depression–they can make us more sociable, too.
Your Mood or Energy Improve Too Much
If you're taking antidepressant medication and you either feel unusually elated, or you become very terse with your loved ones, feel noticeably more irritable, or have an uncharacteristic bout of rage, then it's likely that your antidepressant dose is too high.
In time, the brain readjusts and people should experience a return to their normal state. If depressive symptoms do arise and gradually worsen, it's best to consult a psychiatrist or doctor, if they don't improve within a few weeks or if they become severe.
Antidepressants can also relieve long-term symptoms of chronic depressive disorder (dysthymia) and chronic depression, and help make them go away completely. An antidepressant can already have an effect within one or two weeks.