Posted by klein on April 29, 2014, at 21:59:42
In reply to Re: About SSRI-induced apathy, posted by Phillipa on April 29, 2014, at 20:54:25
> I feel the lifting of anxiety allows one to be relaxed so they just feel like their old selves. Phillipa
Exactly! The mechanism by which SSRIs and SNRIs produce an anxiolytic effect is speculative :
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763411001710
And there's a fine line between feeling calm and feeling numb and apathetic.
We know how benzos work, the mechanism is pretty straightforward (thought the dopamine thing remains to be seen?)
My coarse theory:
I believe SSRIs and benzos compliment each other. Maybe average doses of SSRIs (say Zoloft 50mg) are sufficient to control most people's anxiety and depression. But some of us need much higher doses and "cocktails" to control severe major depression, and the anxiolytic effect of the medication becomes overwhelming. The solution seems to be to either lower the dose of the AD (and risk relapse) or add a booster. A short course of extra benzos is what works for me.
I'm not a psychopharmacologist or anything like that, so I might be wrong. Bottom line (to me at least) is, if it works, then go for it.
poster:klein
thread:1064752
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20140419/msgs/1064958.html