Antidepressants can numb enjoyment as well as pain, scientists say

Antidepressants can numb enjoyment as well as pain, scientists say Antidepressants can make patients feel emotionally dull, according to scientists.

One class of antidepressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), targets serotonin, the ‘feel-good’ chemical that carries messages between nerve cells in the brain.

A SSRI side-effect is ‘blunting’, where patients say they cannot respond with the level of enjoyment they normally would. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Chronic escitalopram in healthy volunteers has specific effects on reinforcement sensitivity: a double-blind, placebo-controlled semi-randomised study (open access) Neuropsychopharmacology
• Scientists explain emotional ‘blunting’ caused by common antidepressants University of Cambridge
• Antidepressants can cause ‘emotional blunting’, study shows The Guardian
• Why antidepressants can blunt both negative and positive emotions New Scientist