SSRIs and dating

[Anonymous]

Has anyone found that SSRIs helped their dating life?

[Anonymous]

I have less anxiety with a very low dose of an anti-depressant. They are known to cause problems with sexual function (harder to orgasm) in some people. Hasn't been a problem for me. I guess they have improved my dating life, because they have improved my life in general. However, I find no direct correlation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have less anxiety with a very low dose of an anti-depressant. They are known to cause problems with sexual function (harder to orgasm) in some people. Hasn't been a problem for me. I guess they have improved my dating life, because they have improved my life in general. However, I find no direct correlation.

Thanks! So I guess you can say you feel like yourself, but better?

[Anonymous]

Great question. One I haven't seen on here before!

Yes, for me they have.

I am less inclined to fall into a deep depression if some guy rejects me or isn't into me like I am if I am non-medicated. I do not take things too personally + I can think in a more rational manner.

For example if me and a guy do not click on the first date, instead of me saying, "Oh my God....I am the most ugliest, stupidest, fattest loser...Why WOULD he like a girl like me....??!" I tend to think more realistically now as in, "Well things didn't work out, we just didn't have the right chemistry, he wasn't a bad person, and I am not a bad person, just a bad match. I'm going to keep trying until I find a good match."

Also, my anxiety level is much lower + I do not stress too much during our conversations which is wonderful because before I would be horribly nervous and shy during first date conversations.

Regarding sex, I have heard that these medications affect libido negatively, but from a personal viewpoint, I am on Zoloft and Seroquel and I have had no negative effects thus far and I have been on these meds for five yrs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have less anxiety with a very low dose of an anti-depressant. They are known to cause problems with sexual function (harder to orgasm) in some people. Hasn't been a problem for me. I guess they have improved my dating life, because they have improved my life in general. However, I find no direct correlation.

Thanks! So I guess you can say you feel like yourself, but better?

PP here. I feel less brittle when I am on the anti-depressants. I am less quick to be angry and just a little calmer. There isn't a big life-changing shift, but kind of like the difference between being a little tired and a little more well-rested. If you aren't already taking an SSRI, I don't suspect that it would be something that taken just for that reason is likely to improve your dating. If you have social anxiety or are socially awkward, they aren't going to change that. However, if they help you to sleep, concentrate, and deal with life -- well, that certainly isn't going to hurt your dating experiences.

[Anonymous]

Please be upfront with dating partners about this. Nothing is worse than dating someone who doesn't seem depressed or anxious and then they go off their meds once they feel "safe" in the relationship. I said "I do." to someone who only existed on Prozac.