Hello everyone,
 

I am currently dealing with severe emotional and genital anesthesia (PSSD) after Zoloft. I was on the drug for about 5 months. Started at 50mg for a few weeks, then 100mg, then 150, then 200mg which was way too much, so then in the span of a month and a half I tapered off it with 50mg increments. 5ish months total. 
 

I never had any significant issues until I started tapering off. That was when the sexual side effects started. I just thought “oh must be the abrupt change in dosage, this should go away soon”. For a short time after completely discontinuing the drug, the sexual side effects persisted, but I could still function emotionally. That didn’t last for long. About 2-3 months after stopping, my emotions, feelings, sexual function, and overall humanity disappeared. Everything was gone.

 

Today I come to this forum, 11 months off, which zero signs of improvement. I often find myself coming across the “permanent” stories of people with PSSD and I can’t help but to think that that is going to be me. I struggle everyday as everything is falling apart in front of me, my relationships with my family and friends, my job, u name it. It is extremely hard to live life when u are just a walking corpse. 
 

I come here looking for hope. I really don’t want this to be the end of my life. I’m only 23 and have so much ahead of me. I’ve worked for so much. I pray that this isn’t the end. 
 

To everyone else dealing with this, I pray for you as well 🙏. 

Welcome to the forum.

 

This is a volunteer-run, community forum aimed at helping those who are tapering and/or experiencing difficulties with psychiatric medications and withdrawl syndrome. We are not medical professionals and cannot offer medical advice. We simply offer support and opinions which you could use as talking points with a medical provider knowledgeable in withdrawing off psychiatric medications.

 

Please familiarise yourself with the forum rules and the disclaimer located here: Guidelines

 

Please make sure your signature is kept up to date with your drug history. This will allow members to see some basic information about your drug history and situation so that they may help you best. Information on how to do this is located in the FAQs section above, but here is a direct link: Update Signature

Once this is done, future posts made by you will have this signature turned on by default. For this reason please keep it clear but condensed as possible.

I'm so sorry to read about the tough time you've had recently you will find plenty of support here for sure.

 

In the mean time this is what I would do if I were you:

 

-Stay Hydrated 

 

-Eat a good clean whole food diet, avoiding processed foods and sugars.

 

-Stay away from caffeine, alcohol and antihistamines and any other psychoactive substances.

 

Supplements are to be avoided initially, as they often irritate our nervous systems. Try to get your nutrition through food.

 

A daily walk is very important as much as you can manage, if you can manage it. Gets you your fresh air and Vitamin D does wonders for your mind.

 

 

Other than the emotional anaesthesia and sexual dysfunction, are you experiencing significant other symptoms, or are these the main ones?

 

PSSD is difficult. I would say that it can exist as a long-term syndrome in itself, however many of the symptoms of it (sexual dysfunction, anhedonia and so on) can also be experienced as part of a broader withdrawal syndrome. Some people can and do recover from PSSD symptoms. Until you give it time and do what you can to promote your body's ability to heal, it's difficult to say, but it is definitely worth keeping in mind that many people can and do recover in time.

 

Personally, I experience it as part of my withdrawal syndrome and although not fully better, it's improving now, but it has been a fair bit longer for me.

 

I would also say that there are cases where people have been off of all medications and have had PSSD persist very long term, however in many of the stories you encounter people are not being very honest about continuing to take further medications on and off. PSSD is very real, you just have to make sure you're reading stories from genuine sufferers and not people who are keeping themselves there by continuing to experiment with further and further drugs.

 

At 11 months off, it is very distressing, but it absolutely is possible to heal down the line and 11 months would be a relatively "quick" recovery from it, so there is hope.

 

You are very welcome here and I hope you find the site supportive.

On 3/14/2026 at 5:11 AM, Luke said:

Welcome to the forum.

 

This is a volunteer-run, community forum aimed at helping those who are tapering and/or experiencing difficulties with psychiatric medications and withdrawl syndrome. We are not medical professionals and cannot offer medical advice. We simply offer support and opinions which you could use as talking points with a medical provider knowledgeable in withdrawing off psychiatric medications.

 

Please familiarise yourself with the forum rules and the disclaimer located here: Guidelines

 

Please make sure your signature is kept up to date with your drug history. This will allow members to see some basic information about your drug history and situation so that they may help you best. Information on how to do this is located in the FAQs section above, but here is a direct link: Update Signature

Once this is done, future posts made by you will have this signature turned on by default. For this reason please keep it clear but condensed as possible.

I'm so sorry to read about the tough time you've had recently you will find plenty of support here for sure.

 

In the mean time this is what I would do if I were you:

 

-Stay Hydrated 

 

-Eat a good clean whole food diet, avoiding processed foods and sugars.

 

-Stay away from caffeine, alcohol and antihistamines and any other psychoactive substances.

 

Supplements are to be avoided initially, as they often irritate our nervous systems. Try to get your nutrition through food.

 

A daily walk is very important as much as you can manage, if you can manage it. Gets you your fresh air and Vitamin D does wonders for your mind.

 

 

Other than the emotional anaesthesia and sexual dysfunction, are you experiencing significant other symptoms, or are these the main ones?

 

PSSD is difficult. I would say that it can exist as a long-term syndrome in itself, however many of the symptoms of it (sexual dysfunction, anhedonia and so on) can also be experienced as part of a broader withdrawal syndrome. Some people can and do recover from PSSD symptoms. Until you give it time and do what you can to promote your body's ability to heal, it's difficult to say, but it is definitely worth keeping in mind that many people can and do recover in time.

 

Personally, I experience it as part of my withdrawal syndrome and although not fully better, it's improving now, but it has been a fair bit longer for me.

 

I would also say that there are cases where people have been off of all medications and have had PSSD persist very long term, however in many of the stories you encounter people are not being very honest about continuing to take further medications on and off. PSSD is very real, you just have to make sure you're reading stories from genuine sufferers and not people who are keeping themselves there by continuing to experiment with further and further drugs.

 

At 11 months off, it is very distressing, but it absolutely is possible to heal down the line and 11 months would be a relatively "quick" recovery from it, so there is hope.

 

You are very welcome here and I hope you find the site supportive.

Thank you for your response Luke. I would say that the severe PSSD (emotional and sexual) are my only symptoms. I am not necessarily fatigued, don't feel nauseous, don't vomit, etc. No physical symptoms. Never had those. It's all hidden. I go through college and no one knows I am dealing with this. Now, going through college is horrible because I have to make up excuses as to why I can't drink, have to fake conversations, have to fake a lot of things. I can't feel anything. Everything just feels like I am a walking robot. I am not letting this ruin my life right now though. Hoping that I will heal within the next few years, I will continue to try my absolute hardest to maintain my friendships, graduate college, and maintain my job that I am starting in a few months. So much ahead of me, I am just praying this passes soon so I can live the life I set myself up for. 

That's all you can do. Hopefully it does improve in time.