Posted by JPHR on December 30, 2008, at 14:30:02
In reply to Long-Term Users of SSRI's--Need Your Help, posted by NewQuestions on October 15, 2008, at 14:26:24
Others have posted some useful advice. I simply wanted to state that, yes, a so-called "apathy syndrome" does occur in some people (children, adolescents, & adults) after long-term use of an SSRI and that this syndrome can be quite disabling.
For me, the problem began about two years ago, after being on various SSRIs for (approximately) six years. The onset was so insidious that I did not realize what was happening until the fatigue and apathy/avolition had become quite severe. Around two years ago, I began to complain to various doctors of extreme lethargy, without getting any help from them (fatigue can be caused by so many things, including depression, that I can't blame them for not taking the time to figure out what was going on.)
About one year ago, I began to realize that I had almost no volition to complete even important tasks, and also felt very apathetic about this. I explained these major changes in my personality (I have always been a hard-worker and am used to taking on many responsibilities) as the result of "burn out": and it seems that I had convinced my psychiatrist of this, too. I had many work-related responsibilities and had been working at a fairly hectic pace for several years. As a result, last spring, I resigned from my most-challenging position and replaced it with some less-demanding duties .
Nonetheless, over the summer my apathy and fatigue became even worse. As a college-level psychology instructor, I was able to "get by" during this time because I wasn't required to work. But I still had a number of uncompleted projects hanging over my head--tasks that I had put off because of my lack of volition and my lethargy--yet I felt unable to work on them.
It was only at the end of the summer that my psychiatrist decided that I must be suffering from "apathy syndrome," which I had never heard of!! I put exclamation marks at the end of that sentence because I have taught a number of psychology courses (including psychopathology) and was trained in biological psychology--yet, I was completely unaware of this syndrome. It turns out that it is not well publicized and that little is known about its causes. The (too-brief) 2004 review article to which one respondent already referred emphasized these points.
My doctors' (and my own) ignorance of the SSRI-induced "apathy syndrome" led to two very frustrating--and even frightening--years in which I became increasingly unable to effectively perform my job responsibilities. The syndrome also had negative effects on my person life. What makes this all even worse is that it is very difficult to explain to others why I was having so much difficulty over this time, even to those whom I feel secure revealing my antidepressant use to. Apathy and avolition are negative attributes in our work-obsessed culture and, among the professionals with whom I work, they are reviled.
It is essential that those prescribing these medications be more aware of the symptoms of this syndrome; and, most important, that they be proactive in detecting these symptoms in any of their patients who have been taking SSRIs for at least several years.
poster:JPHR
thread:857586
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20081223/msgs/871437.html