I remember years ago when I was severely overmedicate with drugs that I felt suicidal because I couldn't feel anything. I kept telling my psychiatrist, "I can't feel and it makes me sa sad and desperate." He recommended ECT. Now that I know more, I can see I was suffering from emotional blunting and the doctor should have known that instead of recommending an even worse "treatment."
What a beautiful, deep & profound piece. I can see you took a lot of time with it. Thank you for writing it. ☺️
I also liked that it was in a narrative format. It’s more powerful to me .
But let me ask you a question?
IF your “experience of the full spectrum of human emotion, from the depths of despair to the heights of ecstasy” meant that you couldn’t work to support yourself ; (so then of course you couldn’t pay your bills or have somewhere to live, let alone have a family of your own) ; you could barely manage family relationships let alone a romantic one (too overwhelming); you can’t watch most movies /TV because they are too intense; essentially you can’t participate normally in every day life LET ALONE write beautiful articles like this - then would you consider medication?
It’s all well and good to say that emotions & the human experience need to be lived as a divine mystery - until it actually stops your ability to live a fulfilling life. Essentially you are disabled.
And whilst I’m sure many people are afraid /incapable of feeling at all, - there’s just as many like your second example who feel too much and suffer for it, in a non-supportive world for other people are also just trying to get by.
The whole decision to take medication is so much more complex, rich & nuanced - just like emotions - than just single one track of the “SSRI’s are blunting your emotional capacity
and you need to experience the full range of human experience “angle.
What if medication is balancing your emotional capacity?
Years ago I remember having an ex-boyfriend who took medication. When he stopped taking medication, he was always staring above my head as he claimed he could see Spirits.
He also tried to burn down his mother‘s house because he became increasingly paranoid even though he loved his mother very much. Medication helped him greatly.
This angle can be equally true and untrue in many cases to varying degrees. This angle also engenders a sense of shame when people feel like they can’t cope without medication and that they are failures for taking medication.
It’s a fine line to walk, isn’t it?
PS. Nothing separates you from what you already ARE - a ‘soul’.
Just some food for thought.
Thank you again for a beautiful and eloquent article . ☺️
Thank you for the kind words and taking the time to read the article. I tend to answer these questions with some facts prior to providing my opinions. First, we do not have any "medicine" in psychiatric treatments. We have drugs- which have drug effects. In the example you are referring to- is there a situation where somebody poses a risk to themselves or somebody else due to a psychotic episode and a drug is a useful tool? Yes in emergency situations these drug can induce a drug effect that blunts emotional and cognitive processes that could be initially stabilizing (it could also worsen the condition). However, the long term use of these drugs and many other drugs used for psychiatric purposes can actually induce the same symptoms you described above. Mania, psychosis, violence and suicide occur when prescribing these drugs. Starting ,stopping, adding new drugs or increasing doses are particularly dangerous. What tends to be most dangerous is taking the drug and then abruptly stopping the drug (forgetting to take it or purposely stopping it because it makes them feel horrible)- which may have been the case with your ex-boyfriend. People assume the symptoms occurred because they stopped their "medicine" when it is more likely the abrupt ceasing of a powerful psychiatric substance. Dependence and withdrawal is serious. Negative health effects and worsening of symptoms are common. When it comes to the majority of cases where people turn to drugs for "mood/anxiety" (which is significant and represents most drug sales) - my articles focus on this phenomenon. No- I do not recommend drugs for these purposes and have not in my career. I believe the harms are substantial and the narrative we have created around them even more damaging. Hope that helps.
I wish my brother Brian had met you before the SSRIs, the Lithium, the Depakote. I am quite convinced that that and other drugs have made his diagnosed "Bi-Polar disorder" worse, not better. He will be 64 soon, but he will die young from the damage they have caused.
My almost 10 year old son struggles with social anxiety and selective mutism. I’m no where near deciding to get him on medication, but it’s a possibility…but the emotional numbness is definitely a thing. I certainly don’t want that for him. I am on SSRIs myself, have been for most of my adult life. There was a time a few years ago when I tapered off them (it took a LONG time), and I found myself feeling things about events from years and years past. Unfortunately I went back on them because I had to work, and they did help with that… but what else am I losing?
I remember years ago when I was severely overmedicate with drugs that I felt suicidal because I couldn't feel anything. I kept telling my psychiatrist, "I can't feel and it makes me sa sad and desperate." He recommended ECT. Now that I know more, I can see I was suffering from emotional blunting and the doctor should have known that instead of recommending an even worse "treatment."
Incredible piece of work you have written .
What a beautiful, deep & profound piece. I can see you took a lot of time with it. Thank you for writing it. ☺️
I also liked that it was in a narrative format. It’s more powerful to me .
But let me ask you a question?
IF your “experience of the full spectrum of human emotion, from the depths of despair to the heights of ecstasy” meant that you couldn’t work to support yourself ; (so then of course you couldn’t pay your bills or have somewhere to live, let alone have a family of your own) ; you could barely manage family relationships let alone a romantic one (too overwhelming); you can’t watch most movies /TV because they are too intense; essentially you can’t participate normally in every day life LET ALONE write beautiful articles like this - then would you consider medication?
It’s all well and good to say that emotions & the human experience need to be lived as a divine mystery - until it actually stops your ability to live a fulfilling life. Essentially you are disabled.
And whilst I’m sure many people are afraid /incapable of feeling at all, - there’s just as many like your second example who feel too much and suffer for it, in a non-supportive world for other people are also just trying to get by.
The whole decision to take medication is so much more complex, rich & nuanced - just like emotions - than just single one track of the “SSRI’s are blunting your emotional capacity
and you need to experience the full range of human experience “angle.
What if medication is balancing your emotional capacity?
Years ago I remember having an ex-boyfriend who took medication. When he stopped taking medication, he was always staring above my head as he claimed he could see Spirits.
He also tried to burn down his mother‘s house because he became increasingly paranoid even though he loved his mother very much. Medication helped him greatly.
This angle can be equally true and untrue in many cases to varying degrees. This angle also engenders a sense of shame when people feel like they can’t cope without medication and that they are failures for taking medication.
It’s a fine line to walk, isn’t it?
PS. Nothing separates you from what you already ARE - a ‘soul’.
Just some food for thought.
Thank you again for a beautiful and eloquent article . ☺️
Thank you for the kind words and taking the time to read the article. I tend to answer these questions with some facts prior to providing my opinions. First, we do not have any "medicine" in psychiatric treatments. We have drugs- which have drug effects. In the example you are referring to- is there a situation where somebody poses a risk to themselves or somebody else due to a psychotic episode and a drug is a useful tool? Yes in emergency situations these drug can induce a drug effect that blunts emotional and cognitive processes that could be initially stabilizing (it could also worsen the condition). However, the long term use of these drugs and many other drugs used for psychiatric purposes can actually induce the same symptoms you described above. Mania, psychosis, violence and suicide occur when prescribing these drugs. Starting ,stopping, adding new drugs or increasing doses are particularly dangerous. What tends to be most dangerous is taking the drug and then abruptly stopping the drug (forgetting to take it or purposely stopping it because it makes them feel horrible)- which may have been the case with your ex-boyfriend. People assume the symptoms occurred because they stopped their "medicine" when it is more likely the abrupt ceasing of a powerful psychiatric substance. Dependence and withdrawal is serious. Negative health effects and worsening of symptoms are common. When it comes to the majority of cases where people turn to drugs for "mood/anxiety" (which is significant and represents most drug sales) - my articles focus on this phenomenon. No- I do not recommend drugs for these purposes and have not in my career. I believe the harms are substantial and the narrative we have created around them even more damaging. Hope that helps.
Brilliant piece; thank you!! Will be sharing this—with someone today in fact.
Phenomenal piece, I’m still processing what I’ve read and very grateful for it, thank you.
I wish my brother Brian had met you before the SSRIs, the Lithium, the Depakote. I am quite convinced that that and other drugs have made his diagnosed "Bi-Polar disorder" worse, not better. He will be 64 soon, but he will die young from the damage they have caused.
My almost 10 year old son struggles with social anxiety and selective mutism. I’m no where near deciding to get him on medication, but it’s a possibility…but the emotional numbness is definitely a thing. I certainly don’t want that for him. I am on SSRIs myself, have been for most of my adult life. There was a time a few years ago when I tapered off them (it took a LONG time), and I found myself feeling things about events from years and years past. Unfortunately I went back on them because I had to work, and they did help with that… but what else am I losing?
Thank you.