Posted by grapebubblegum on August 2, 2001, at 9:08:48
In reply to I never had a panic attack for 2 years until now!, posted by AVR on August 1, 2001, at 23:50:51
Now, wait a minute and let's not throw around the word "psychotic" just because he is honest enough to say that he had some angry feelings that were not accompanied with guilt. I think everyone has angry feelings and here is my theory:
SSRIs can liberate you enough that you do not feel shy or inhibited socially; the bad side is that your anger is liberated such that you don't necessarily hurt people but you can "tell off" people like you couldn't before (this parallels the previous inability to just make social conversation; see the continuum here?) and that you can consciously experience thoughts of anger toward people that previously you may have suppressed WAY down deep, such that you weren't even aware of these thoughts in your dream life or couldn't recall these dreams.
In other words, it is true that SSRIs can bring on a degree of apathy. My opinion is that they reduce anxiety to the degree that sometimes you are not as careful as you should be. Or that you have less of a conscience than you previously did. Which is good if your conscience was turned up to warp speed, but not so good if you're doing things that are out of character and unpleasant...
Maybe a different dose or a different SSRI could be tried, or maybe a different medication altogether. But I would advise AVR to keep the doctor informed of any disturbing thoughts; you don't have to go into complete detail but you could tell him/her that you are experiencing unaccustomed and uncomfortable revenge or anger feelings and dreams accompanied with a notable lack of remorse. I'm sure there is a way your medication could be tweaked to put you in a comfort zone.
poster:grapebubblegum
thread:73018
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010731/msgs/73086.html