Teenagers- SSRIs, gender identity, LGBTQ connection?
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Anonymous
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How do SSRI drugs impact the sexual development of teenagers? If a known side effect is "decline or loss of libido" then it's reasonable to
consider the drugs are having an impact on sexual development. I ask this as I am observing my DD struggle with her sexual identity and gender identity. I'm not worried about who she is sexually/gender, but I am concerned about the impact her medications are having on her brain development as a whole. We have and love LGBTQ family members so this is not the issue. DD never had any signs of LGBTQ until adolescence which was not the case for other family and friends we've known. DD was naturally feminine during her early years, lots of make believe, dress up, collecting stereotypical girl toys, Etc. we are now seeing the extreme opposite (she hates having breasts, she's constantly analyizing her identity, she wants to dress gender neutral/cut her hair). She is has been on SSRIs for 5 years and we wonder if there is a connection. Her personality has derailed from who she was as a child. We have another child who is an out lesbian. We were not completely surprised by this revelation as we saw characteristics growing up. We do not believe our other DD was born gender neutral, but believe it's meds. Thoughts? Let me add, I don't believe everyone on SSRIs will have the same side effects, obviously. Certainly not everyone on SSRIs would experience gender identity/sexual identity confusion. And again, I embrace whoever our children our - this is not about her gender/sexuality - it's about medications and brain development. It's a real concern what any drug does to a brain. |
Anonymous
| My son has been on SSRIs since before puberty. He is 14. He has struggled with whether he is asexual though now he has said he is not. He also isn’t sure of his sexual orientation. |
Anonymous
Thank you for your reply. Do you think there is a connection between the SSRIs and his sexual development? |
Anonymous
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I can't speak to SSRI's causing transgender feelings, but I can certainly speak to how my daughter reacted AFTER having those feelings and starting SSRI's. She started having gender-questioning in 7th grade & 8th grade, coinciding with spikes in anxiety, depression and panic attacks. The more her social anxiety and depression spiraled, the stronger her feelings of transgenderism became. There were lots of therapy sessions to discuss her anxiety and depression, and generally we supported her expressing how she felt gender-wise (but did not agree at that time to hormone therapy). Her depression, in particular related to social anxieties and bullying at school (her statements), culminated in strong suicidal thoughts and she was hospitalized.
Prior to her hospitalization, I felt strongly that she should start medication for depression and anxiety. Her therapist and my husband kept wanting to hold off because of the potential risks. I started SSRI's in my 40's after increasing agitation and anxiety, and they changed my life. So I knew they had the potential for helping her. When she was hospitalized, they placed her on Zoloft. That was 1.5 years ago and she is SO much happier now. She still experiences occasional anxiety and depression, but when she does become anxious or has a panic attack, she is able to focus to use coping skills she has worked on with her therapist. Her panic is much rarer now. The SSRI's have made an enormous difference in helping her stay within a manageable range of emotions, manageable degrees, of being able to stay unspiraled-enough to be able to use her coping skills. She is now in 10th grade and her feelings of transgenderism have gone away. Per her statements, she feels they were driven by unhappiness with her body and strong depression, wanting desperately to be someone different. Before I am crucified, I am NOT saying put your child on an SSRI and their transgender feelings will go away! What I am saying is that if the SSRI's can help diminish their depression and anxiety, true feelings about gender and other issues can come through rather than those driven by deep anxiety and depression, either still feeling transgender or feeling that it was something else. I guess this is a long-winded way of saying we had the opposite happen to your worry about SSRI's. |
Anonymous
| PP. Should have added...when her severe depression started, one of her soothers was food and she put on weight. So when she told me later about her unhappiness with her body, she talked about how she was unhappy with being overweight. I had figured she was, and had tried to gently urged her to do things like walk the dog more, etc to get the weight off without targeting it specifically, but with her spiraling dark thoughts, we didn’t push her to take weight off. Now that she is feeling much better, she has dropped the weight and likes her figure much better. Wears more feminine clothes. |
Anonymous
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Look into how the plastics in our food affect health, especially that of children. The plastics mimic estrogen .
(That can probably cause anxiety in girls as well if it leads to an imbalance). The plastic is even found in things like packaged Mac and cheese that you make from the box? https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bpa-study-plastic-chemica/ https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/well/chemicals-food-children-health.html Plastics manufacturers can get people to write articles about how maybe these things aren’t so harmful but a hormone disrupter is a hormone disrupter. Decide for yourself and maybe eat a less processed diet. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/12/well/eat/the-chemicals-in-your-mac-and-cheese.html |
Anonymous
| My DD has severe depression and anxiety and came out to us in middle school. She's now saying that she's transgender/non-binary. She hates her breasts. She loves to wear dresses but wants to be called a more gender-neutral name. We just started her on SSRI's so I'm curious to see what the outcome will be. |
Anonymous
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No, I don’t believe this is a thing. You’re going to find anecdotes to support it, but I’m pretty sure there’s no study supporting it.
My son (ftm trans) has trouble with anxiety and depression. He was trans before starting SSRIs. The medication has helped his anxiety and depression, but hasn’t affected the gender he identifies as. Loss of libido is a known side effect of SSRIs. Sexuality is separate from gender, and low libido wouldn’t affect if someone identifies as trans. I can imagine it causing someone to identify as asexual, just because if your libido tanks, you might feel like you’re not sexually attracted to either/any gender. Ask any 40 something mom on Prozac how her sex drive is and she might not identify as asexual, but I bet she’ll be able to understand where someone who does is coming from. |
Anonymous
I believe this is part of it. If a person has been on an SSRI and then hits puberty with an "impaired" libido, this person may be confused or have difficulty defining his/ her sexuality If they are not experiencing sexual feelings how can they determine their sexuality? |
Anonymous
1. Sexuality and gender are completely different. It seems like they’re being confused or lumped together in this thread. 2. You can still have romantic feelings even with loss of libido. People who identify as asexual can still be attracted to other people or have romantic feelings toward them, and therefore can also identify as gay/straight/bi. It’s a spectrum. Some people who identify as asexual don’t want any romantic/sexual relationships, but others like to dateand even cuddle without sexual activity, and there’s a whole range in between. |