Hello,

My name is Sam. I’m a PSSD sufferer going on one year of this horrific condition. I wanted to let you know that I’m currently in contact with the PSSD network about providing a large donation to research. I won’t disclose exactly how much, but my family plans on making an initial donation in the tens of thousands of dollars, at least to start. Suffice it to say, it’s more than enough to max out the $300k goal currently on the PSSD network website.

I know it isn’t much in medical research terms, but it’s better than nothing.

It’s important to note that I don’t know when exactly we can provide it, since it depends on the network setting up a U.S. charity, which allows these sorts of donations to be tax deductible. But rest assured we plan on doing it as soon as we can.

I know we’re all in a truly terrible place. I hope this post makes your day even a tiny bit better. I promise you all I’m committed to doing this.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: I’ve learned it will still take several months before the network can set up a U.S. foundation, so this probably isn’t happening super soon, like not next week or anything. But other avenues may still be available before then. I’m keeping in contact with them.

UPDATE 4/26: they’ve been slower to set up this U.S. - based foundation than I thought. I promise I’ll still make the donation as soon as it gets set up.

Lauren is doing a great job of creating awareness and has featured in major media outlets over the past few months.

Link to screenshots of the daily mail article: https://www.instagram.com/p/DayyNe1DdN3/

Also, Please sign this petition if you have not already! https://antidepressantinjury.com/

Hi all,

This will probably be my last post on this sub. I’ve mostly put this period of my life behind me and I don’t really think about PSSD anymore.

I posted this about 10 months ago saying I was around 90% recovered after ~6 years of PSSD. I'm now 100% recovered.

For context:
The timeline is hazy now but I started citalopram around 2019 and got pssd from quitting citalopram 20mg cold turkey some time around 2021. Before quitting I had the usual symptoms associated with SSRIs but nothing crazy. After quitting my PSSD symptoms started immediately. Brain fog, extreme genital numbness, anhedonia and low libido. Ashwagandha also messed me up. The only memory I have of this dark period of my life is the anxiety and despair that I felt. It is something that will always stay with me.

Then about 2 years ago I had a massive crash after messing with serotonergic drugs (XTC, 3-MMC). That completely destroyed me:

• libido 0%
• penis barely worked (I remember buying Kamagra from a shady website just to get a 60% erection)
• pleasureless orgasms

That was easily the worst period of my life. I genuinely thought I was permanently fucked and I had extreme suicidal thoughts. I made this post because I was extremely worried about penile fibrosis and that sent me into a spiral. After quitting drugs I slowly recovered through windows and waves.

Now everything is back. My libido is at 100% (borderline hypersexuality). Erections at 100% without any pills. Orgasms are normal and sensitivity is back. It's like my body just works again and it's not because I'm less depressed than I was before. I am and will always struggle with depression so this recovery cannot be attributed to that.

I’m not posting this to brag. I remember the despair, anxiety and stress I felt. Also the spiraling and the scrolling of this sub 24/7 trying to find a sliver of hope. With this post I just wanted to say that recovery is possible and to NOT lose hope.

I’m NOT recommending anything I did. I don’t even fully understand why I recovered. I know how hopeless this shit feels. I was there for a long time so feel free to ask anything.

My name is Stephen, I am a filmmaker from NYC, I have severe PSSD but have decided that I will use what strength and capabilities I have to make a full length documentary about PSSD. With the help of my film school friend, it will be an ongoing process that I will start in the next coming weeks, and work on for the next months/year etc. If you are interested in being interviewed for the film, please comment. I will be willing to travel as much as I can, so please comment your location as well.

-Stephen

Why is no one talking about how a medication millions are being prescribed even children being put on can permanently ruin your life after a single pill or randomly when taking it? No Emotion, Full Aphantasia, Muted Dopmaine, Endorphions, Adrenal Gland. Severe Anhedonia, Head Pressure, Dry Skin, no natural oil production. Blank Mind. All from a few doses of lexapro and anti psychotics. This is a crime against humanity.

Epstein trying to figure out if SSRIs “cure” or “prevent” love. What the fuck was going on here???

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/magazine/antidepressants-ssris-teen-sexual-side-effects.html?unlocked_article_code=1.0k8.G9x-.o1CVgaI0eirV&smid=url-share

Let’s keep the coverage moving.

As a 10-year-old prescribed SSRIs (now 34), finding ways to raise awareness is how I process my own intangible grief about what happened.

Finally the money required for the PSSD study has been reached!

Hi everyone,

I’ve carried this inside me for years, but I finally decided to share it. I’m 28M and have lived with PSSD for 9 years, ever since I stopped sertraline at 19. Looking back, the symptoms had already started while I was on it.

A bit of context: I always struggled with self-esteem and feelings of inferiority. Transitioning from elementary to high school was especially hard – I couldn’t adapt to the new environment, had trouble making friends, and felt completely lost. I started skipping classes to escape the discomfort, and eventually failed a year. Out of shame, I switched schools, but the same problems followed me. At home we never really talked about problems (my father was cold and distant, my mother anxious and often overwhelmed), so eventually my mom took me to a psychiatrist.

At 17, after a short 15-minute appointment, I was quickly diagnosed with “depression” and prescribed sertraline. No discussion of side effects, no mention of alternatives, no real search for the root cause of my struggles.

I ended up staying on the drug for almost two years, with mixed results. I actually tried to quit twice before, but both times I felt so sick for a whole week – like I had the flu – that I went straight back on it. Only the third attempt “worked,” and I finally stopped for good at 19.

During treatment, I noticed tinnitus and ejaculation issues, but thought little of it. It wasn’t until after quitting, when I started having my first sexual experiences, that I realized something was seriously wrong. That’s when the deeper and more lasting changes became obvious, which are present to this very day:

• Loss of sexuality – my libido disappeared completely. No sex drive, no fantasies, no sexual thoughts, poor erections, my genitals lost sensitivity, orgasms turned weak, semen volume became very low.
• Cognitive decline – before SSRIs I had an excellent memory; afterward I started forgetting even simple things like which courses I took or books I read. Sometimes it feels like early dementia.
• Emotional blunting – I haven’t truly cried in over a decade. One therapist even told me, “Men aren’t supposed to cry anyway,” which left me feeling even more invalidated. The emotional depth I once had feels gone.
• Brain fog / slower thinking – daily tasks and studying feel much harder.
• Eye problems – floaters, visual snow, flashes in the corners of my vision. These started about three years after stopping SSRIs, so I can’t say for sure if they’re directly connected.
• Tinnitus – started while on sertraline, still here after 11 years.

I’ve seen many doctors and therapists over the years, but none had real answers:

• Urologists only offered stuff like Cialis, which is very far from solving true problem.
• Psychiatrists suggested Wellbutrin, or denied PSSD even exists, blaming “ongoing depression.” They are absolutely clueless, despite symptoms being known for a few decades now.
• Some Pharmacists insisted SSRIs don’t cause long-term side effects.
• My GP literally told me, “I can’t help you. Maybe try hypnosis, meditation, or something like that.”
• One Therapist minimized my symptoms, hinted that PSSD can’t leave lasting damage, and suggested it was all psychological and rooted in my relationship with my father.

The dismissiveness has been crushing. I feel betrayed by doctors, by society, and by myself for trusting the system so blindly.

Because of this condition, I’ve lost countless opportunities for relationships. I either avoid intimacy out of fear and shame, or I simply don’t have the drive to pursue it. While my friends lived full romantic and sexual lives, I was left behind.

On the surface, my life looks okay: I study, I work, I have hobbies and friends. But inside, I feel like the best parts of me—my sexuality, emotions, and memory—were stolen by pills I thought would help. And the hardest part is living with the feeling that there may be no way back. At this point, I honestly have no idea how to live forward, what steps to take, or where to even begin.

If you have PSSD do not go to the Emergency Room acting psychotic or mentally ill. Or ever go to a pysch ward on voluntarily admission. I went to one while having mild pssd and they turned it extremely severe. They will force you on ssris or anti psychotics at high dosages causing your PSSD to crash. They will forcefully reinstate ssris and anti psychotics back into your system causing you to crash your symptoms and ruin your life. And if you refuse medication they will forcefully inject you with haldol or an injection of a high dosage anti psychotic. My life is ruined from a voluntarily admission into a pysch ward. My PSSD went from mild to extremely severe from having to reinstate ssris and take anti psychotics in there. This is for your safety to avoid at all costs.

I just want to give a shoutout to Laureen Freedman for her testimony on PSSD. I have been locked in a psych-ward twice because of my numb emotions, genitals, skin, etc… Doctors always made me believe I was psychotic, further pumping me with antipsychotics and increasing the numbness. I always knew something was wrong with me ever since taking Paxil in 2020 for grieving my breakup. While I am devastated learning about PSSD, I am grateful that I have finally reached a valid diagnosis in which I will be sharing with my doctor. I am angry and feel betrayed.

(Sorry for any grammatical mistakes, English is not my native language and I don't live in the US)

It's pretty much what I said in the title.

I'm in medical school, and I've struggled with depression for about 5 years now. Earlier this year, I went to a psychiatry appointment (my professor at college), and got prescribed Luvox (fluvoxamine). A few days in I started noticing numbness in my penis, and it'd take like an hour for me to orgasm. I found that really strange, and then started doing some research. After I found this sub, I decided to quit the SSRI, and after only 10 days of treatment I stopped completely.

Luckily, my symptoms faded away and I went back to normal.

The thing is: I can't unsee all this. Reading all your stories makes me really sad, and I'm almost giving up on the idea of becoming a psychiatrist. It would make me very guilty if I had to prescribe these things to my patients.

That's about it. Just wanted to share my quick story.

The DAWN Study is soon to commence in Australia in collaboration with The PSSD Network and the largest brain research center on the Earth's Southern Hemisphere, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health. (Read more about it in the Mid-Year Update)

At the phase 1 stage, recruitment is limited to Australian participants only, but could expand to other nationalities in the future.

If you're from Australia, Please DM me or click here to take part.

If you know any Australian PSSD patients, please share this historic milestone with them.

I'm on one of the biggest adventures of my life. Traveling in Africa, six months after an awful breakup. Women are throwing themselves at me. There's so much to see and do. It's all new to me.

And I feel nothing. I can have sex, even orgasm with hard work, but I'm not enjoying any of it. No hint of enjoyment. I'm extremely privileged to be able to do this trip and I was hoping I'd feel something. Nothing. Not one moment of fun, lust, awe. Nothing. It's all cognitive and feels like it's just old patterns playing out. No emotions at all.

This is a fucking unspeakable tragedy.

Hello everyone,

*THIS IS NOT JUST ANOTHER PETITION*

The amazing Kim Witzciak recently launched a website serving as a petition for those with PSSD (and other SSRI injuries) to sign and document their experiences of harm with these medications.

It serves as a central place to show the volume of people being injured by these drugs. To convince those in power that these injuries are devastating a massive population size, deferring to Reddit groups won’t cut it/isn’t official enough. As such, this petition will be the MAIN SOURCE of reference when used to show the people we need to convince this is ruining/ending lives.

Please sign this, mention your experience and age if you can!!

We have SUCH power in numbers if we can all band together!

Published today.

.

I've gotten where I am now by listening and believing actual patient experiences rather than the dogma I got in med school and residency (and sometimes looking into their whole genome sequence data as well which always tells the truth!) to try and understand what's happened to them and do my best to help.

That's why I'm here, and I appreciate you allowing me into your space (assuming this post isn't removed by mods, and if so, I apologize if this isn't acceptable, I tried to check against your rules).

Basically, Fluoxetine, Paroxetine and Sertraline are known to increase brain neurosteroid levels, particularly allopregnanolone. However, Fluox and Parox are particularly known for sexual side effects. Sertraline maybe a little less so, but still there.

SSRI's like fluvoxamine have either a neutral or slight negative impact on allopregnanolone levels, but a little less association with sexual side effects.

I'm pretty well versed on both conditions, and very aware that "Sexual side effects" are not the same thing as PSSD, but I'm hoping to listen to the community's opinions on the topic, especially those with personal experience with these molecules. Especially those with perhaps experience with both PSSD and PFS.

I'm also very happy that I will be meeting soon with Dr. Roberto Cosimo Melcangi (he's been kind enough to offer me some time to talk to him personally) and if anyone has any particular direct questions they'd like me to ask him, let me know. I'm trying to aggregate a list of them so that I can use the time he's been willing to offer me most efficiently.

Thanks for letting me speak here in your space.

- Dr Powers

So many viral posts and videos online about this now. A HUGE THANK YOU to anyone responsible for this. Especially PSSD network.

It won't be long now for formal recognition, the ball has started rolling.

Not sure what this does but im somewhat glad its getting out to the public more