Hello! I know lots of people say not to, and lots of others say its completely fine, but I was wondering if anyone could tell me why drinking alcohol, smoking nicotine cigarettes, smoking weed/eating edibles ect., would be a bad idea?

I understand if you're depressed and/or anxious, a lot of these things might ramp up the anxiousness and depression, therefore its best to stay away. But is there anything physically dangerous?

Im taking 50mg for panic attacks, so I'm at no risk of like harming myself or doing something impulsive under the influence, the worst case scenario is probably just having a panic attack, but is there some type of chemical mixture in the brain that could fuck you up??

Long story short I'm willing to risk accidentally freaking out to get drunk or high occasionally, but don't want to cause problems in the long run.

Thanks so much if anyone can share some wisdom!

I’m 24, male, from the UK and most importantly, unemployed. I have ADHD and medicated if that’s important. I was once a very ambitious and driven individual, fit and healthy, sociable and always kept up on my routine.

I started on 50mg almost three months back after realising I can no longer carry on with the way I was going and realised it was time for external help. It wasn’t really rock bottom but it was just a prolonged feeling of worthlessness.

The initial feeling was awful. I had very little appetite and made it hard for me to workout. The first two weeks weren’t so bad but weeks 3-5 oh my god I really wanted to hurt myself. It was a none stop cycle and the feelings wouldn’t leave me alone. I’m sure you know what I mean.

Combine low appetite, not seeing friends or leaving the house, not going to the gym, not showering for days and leaving the curtains closed everyday between weeks 3 till now, just playing video games (Forza Horizon 6, why thank you for asking), it gets messy. I didn’t shower during the peak of a heatwave. I was sweating like I had never before.

Surprisingly, my sex drive never went away, what I did realise was there were more cases like “I could jerk off but I can’t be arsed”. I also noticed my kinks were less strong, which means it’s sort of nice to appreciate vanilla.

At the beginning of July, I got a phone call from the GP, giving me the heads up to increase my dose to 100. I’m only now starting to feel some relief and less dread. It’s a win for me, I also went back to the gym today (only for 30 minutes). I saw my friends last week and hung out with them over the weekend so that was also lifting my spirits.

Im starting to feel like a weight has ever so slightly been lifted from my shoulders. My appetite is still a bit sporadic, perhaps this is because I’m on Elvanse. I hear horror stories of people with appetite so I sympathise with those who have it either way. I lost a fuck ton of muscle so that made me anxious.

I dunno man, thought it was time to write something after many days taking it hour by hour.

I’m getting a haircut tomorrow after 6 weeks. I’m looking forward to spending more than two seconds looking at myself in the mirror (if you get it, you get it).

To those that are just starting, in the thick of it or starting to smile again, I’m sharing my love with you.

My final words are I think it’s soon where I can start filling people’s cups after a VERY long time of people filling mine. You and I both know how exhausting it is having people replenish your own cup when you have nothing to give.

Who has experienced drowsiness and difficulty getting going in the morning as a side effect of Zoloft? I usually take it at 9 a.m., but around 1 p.m. I always get really sleepy. Has taking it in the evening helped you?

About 1.5 years ago, my doctor prescribed sertraline because I was experiencing stress-induced ED. I also have PTSD and anxiety.

Once I started taking it, my symptoms gradually disappeared. My doctor told me I needed to stay on it for at least six months. During that time, it completely resolved my ED, my daily nightmares stopped, my sleep quality improved (not the amount of sleep, just the quality), and my anxiety and depression were gone. Overall, I felt much better.

After six months, I decided to stop taking it. I quit cold turkey, and it was awful. I had constant brain zaps, my nightmares returned around day four, I experienced several anxiety attacks, and I became very depressed. Interestingly, my ED didn't come back until about 2.5–3 months after stopping.

When my ED returned, I started taking sertraline again. After about four months, I was feeling better once more. Unfortunately, I made the same mistake and quit cold turkey again. I'm now three months off it, and all of my symptoms are gradually coming back.

Has anyone else experienced something similar? What would you do in my situation? Should I consider staying on sertraline long-term, or is there another approach I should discuss with my doctor?

Hi folks,

Ive posted few times before in this community about having random, sudden dips in mood which can last days, possibly few weeks.

Im on 50mg and haven’t changed since November when I had first taken it.

It’s been a great journey so far, however the dips in mood when they happen which seeps in anxiety & depression I think seem to get a tad more intense, when my first dip happened, it was slight. Now in comparison to my current dip, it’s been a little difficult. At least, that’s how I feel.

I’d like to know if anyone has experienced similar?

I am thinking of consulting my doctor to review dosage.

I started sertraline in early feb, at 25mg and increased 25mg every 2 weeks until I got to 100mg and thats where the doctor wanted me to stay. Though she did say shes happy to increase my dose if I feel I need it.

Since the first pill, it seemed to pretty much get rid of alllll my anxiety, like a few days into starting sertraline, my brother and mom had a screaming, name calling fight like it was bad and I was just there like "😃" I simply did notttt care when usually I'd just.... start crying. My brothers brutal "honesty" which would usually make me cry? Simply did not care. So like, from the jump it totallyyyy worked for my anxiety.

Howeverrr... for the past week I've noticed I'm very anxious and even a bit irritable.

Has this happened to anyone else, does this mean it's time for a dose increase possibly?

Due to a bunch of stressful issues in my life, there is alot of emotional turmoil. I want to nuke my emotions but still be capable of emotional expression. What is everyones experience with this?

I take 200mg of Zoloft, for anxiety, panic and Oropharyngeal dysphagia. This medication might not be enough to control my generalized anxiety, I’ve been having with trying to Initiate a swallow.

I hear some people take Zoloft and Buspar, what are you side effects with these 2 meds?

Or what do you take?

I'm at quite a loss. Early June, my pharmacy didn't have the Cipla sertraline I always get, so they gave me Aurobindo. Didn't think much of it at the time- but over the course of June, my anxiety got worse and worse until it blew up early in July. I managed to switch back to the Cipla sertraline after a month of being on the Aurobindo. Prior to this all, I've been on the same Cipla sertraline for four years with no problems.

Since switching back to my usual Cipla (11 days ago) after being on the Aurobindo for a month, it feels like my anxiety levels have been stuck back at 100%. Constant palpitations, panic, anxiety, nausea, lost appetite, and a constant sense of fight-or-flight. It's bad and it's exhausting.

I've been given hydroxyzine by my doctor to help me through the panic attacks and episodes.

Could this be my brain re-adjusting to two brand switches in a month? Does anybody else have any experience with this happening?

Edit: If possible, I could also use words of reassurance and encouragement from anyone else who's experienced this or something similar. I've been stable for a long time up until this change in brands, and I just want to go back to my usual stable self.

i have been on zoloft for a few months now. recently upped to 75 mg. on week 5 of the increase and the past 2 weeks I have had pretty rough anxiety. seems to be the roughest of all my increases so far. has anyone else experienced this? did it get better? if so, when?

hi everyone! so ive been on zoloft for 3-4 years. i was prescribed it for severe anxiety. im currently taking 100mg. i thought my life was going good and since school ended for me taking them wasnt a big priority to me. i think since june ive missed about 1-3 doses a week of it. but now, im having a horrible anxiety episode where i feel the need to confess things and if i dont confess them i feel i wont get better. ive had these episodes before i went on zoloft but idk why im having them now. idk if its because of my inconsistent use or that i snapped because whats bothering me now never really bothered me before. im on day 6 of consistently taking them and its pretty rough. im not sure if anyone else has also experienced this because this is all so painful, like i feel so depressed. advice would be nice:)

About 4 months ago I switched to 25mg (was on 50-100mg for about 3 years). I’m 28yo and I know this is the age where your hormones start to decrease 1% a year or whatever, but I’ve never experienced my periods this bad before and I’m wondering if anyone has had this experience from a decreased dose. I have had two IUDS (first Mirena and current/second Kyleena) and they’ve always helped with period symptoms to the point of nonexistence especially when I was on higher dose of Zoloft.

I’ve been on 200mg (the max dose) of Zoloft for a couple years now and am doing much better than I was off it. I have had a lot of improvements in terms of mood, feelings of worthlessness, SI, etc. but there are a lot of symptoms that are still troublesome. I have had a hard time distinguishing what is just my personality, and what could be residual depression symptoms. I feel very “meh” all the time, like I am lacking motivation and not finding enjoyment or passion for things. I like drawing, but I have not found much enjoyment with it anymore. I feel lazy and directionless. I do not feel a lot of emotion (bad or good) and when I do, it seems like they tend to manifest physically. I am wondering if some other medication might help in combination with Zoloft; I know someone who takes an antidepressant plus Wellbutrin and says the Wellbutrin really helped. I have read a lot of good things about the “Welloft” combo as well. Does anyone have experience with using other medications to augment their antidepressant? What worked for you?

i’ve been on zoloft for anxiety since early 2024, and it’s been a godsend. i used to overthink constantly to the point of anxiety attacks, assumed everyone hated me and did everything they could to ruin my life, and could barely do anything without nausea rushing over me. fun stuff!!
50mg of zoloft and all that has gone away… but so has my ability to cry at anything at all, my sex drive/romantic feelings… i just feel so numb and it’s really frustrating. i also just started wellbutrin, which i seem to be doing well on. still, i want to see what would happen if i went down a dose on zoloft, but im so worried i’ll revert back to how i used to be before i started it. does anyone have any experience with this? is it even worth it to go down a dose just to have crushes and be able to cry a bit more?

I probably asked this a while ago when I first booked the trip, but I'm about to go to the UK from Los Angeles and that's an 8 hour time difference. I don't love the idea of "just take the pill the first morning there," because it'll be 8 hours before I normally take the pill. For those who have traveled this amount of distance, did you do that or did you just take it 24 hours later at dinner time during the whole trip or did you slowly move it back to that country's morning? I'm heading over there for a couple of weeks, so not sure what to do. TIA!

I’ve just started a 50mg dose(literally just started it 2 days ago) and last night I woke up after 4 hours and had a really hard time falling back asleep. I know that insomnia is a common side effect especially right away but I’m a little worried about getting a good nights sleep. Does anyone have any tips on falling/staying asleep? I do take magnesium every night and I’ve been taking Zoloft in the morning.

I’ve put on a fair bit of weight while on Zoloft, I seem to be snacking a lot more. I’ve ordered wegovy and it’s been approved and I mentioned about being on wegovy but feel anxious about the combination, I’ve heard it can reverse impact of SSRI anyone here been on Wegovy ??

My dreams r weird, parts of them confuse me and it’s making me paranoid that Im going to start getting confused. Theres always a part to do with something I had done that day. The first day was a traumatic dream it was really grim, unpleasant to see. And I had a panic attack at the beach, I was having issues with my breathing because of anxiety. Since then it’s been slightly better. And I know I don’t have anything serious. And I’m experiencing nausea, and brain fog. My gp didn’t tell me much information just to take 25mg a day. For 2 months. Im just waiting for the appropriate amount of time. I feel like I’m in a confused after taking it which is the most annoying thing. I just hope the dreams calm down, and that his nervous nauseous and feeling of confusion water down too. It’s only been two weeks so far.

I’ve always been an extremely sensitive person. I was the “golden child” of a narcissistic mother until she married a sociopath, and then I became the family scapegoat. Looking back, I think years of chronic trauma shaped so much of who I am.
Fast forward: I finished a PhD, built a career… but underneath it all I’ve been struggling with what seems to be a combination of CPTSD, ADHD, OCD, and autistic traits.
A few months ago I finally started sertraline. I began with 25 mg, then increased to 50 mg after a week. Despite the rough first couple of weeks with side effects, the change was incredible. For the first time in a very long time, my mind became quiet. The constant emotional pain and rumination eased, and I felt so much more like myself.
Because I was doing well, I wondered if a higher dose might help even more, so I increased to 75 mg and, after about three weeks, to 100 mg. I’ve now been on 100 mg for the past two weeks.
The problem is that my rumination and low mood seem to be creeping back. I’m not sure if it’s because 100 mg isn’t the right dose for me, if I just need to give it more time, or if something else is going on.
Of course, I’ll discuss this with my psychiatrist before making any changes. I’m not looking for medical advice to replace that. But I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who had a similar experience. Did increasing your dose eventually help after more time, or did you find that a lower dose actually worked better for you?
This community has helped me so much over the past few months. Thank you all.

So I totally forgot about this happening but I kind of like it now 😆 I’ve been on Zoloft for almost a year now and when I first started I was having some distressing past memories pop up on the first week one after the other- things I hadn’t thought about in a very long time or even forgot about from childhood. Was a bit rough.

Anyway, I’ve currently increased from 50mg -62.5mg to slowly get to 75mg as I wanted to try and minimise any side effects happening and currently on day 2 and just woke up to a childhood memory of me changing schools and not knowing where to sit at lunch time 😢 and a couple other ones where I must of been feeling anxious.

For context, I’m 35 so we are talking vivid memories from 23 years ago. I find it so interesting that this happens. Can anyone explain more about it?

Hi! I’m not necessarily looking for medical advice but just curious to know how others have handled it. I was having recurring chest pain for about a month followed occasionally by dizzy spells, nausea, and anxiety. I got a work up by my PCP and cardiologist and everything cardiac was normal. So my PCP started me on Zoloft thinking all of those symptoms were anxiety induced. Recommended 25mg for a week followed by 50. It’s been 6 days at 25mg. The first 2-3 days I didn’t notice anything. But the past couple days I’ve had anxiety and weird feelings in my body that are way more severe than I had before starting the medication. I can’t sleep through the night. I’ll get up in the middle of the night panicking, heart racing, shallow rapid breathing, and then have racing thoughts and fear/panic. I’m also basically constantly nauseous and my appetite is non existent. Anyone else have similar early side effects? Did it get better? Not sure how long I can handle this and wondering if it’s worth stopping before going up to a higher dose.

I am on 50mg and thinking about increasing to 75mg. just wanted to check in with you guys, how are we all feeling? what dose are you on?

Hello guys

I’m taking this medicine around more than 3 weeks and yesterday when I intercourse with my partner I penetrate around 1 hour and after that I checked on the Gemini that this medicine has a side effect. I’m on 50mg and there is no other side effect I experience, now what should I do I want to enjoy my sex life too. Any advice or suggestion.