On 8/20/2026 at 7:31 PM, Wildgoose said:

Do any of ye ever feel like this current feeling is just your baseline now. Some days (like today) I feel like I’m in a bit of a wave but not a full one. Like my mood is down and I have no motivation and it worries me that this is just my new normal. I have had solid windows recently I guess, it just feels like I’ll never get back to who I was previously before all this happened. It’s difficult when you can’t fully identify if your in a wave or not.

I have this experience a lot. You feel a bit better but you’re not sure you are in a wave or just being you . So weird and frustrating. That makes you think “because I don’t feel awful, this must be the new me “. This whole wd can make a person go mad.

On 8/23/2026 at 12:23 AM, Wildgoose said:

I’m in a pit of depression these last few days man. Feeling so guilty about not being able to think about moving forward in my life or my girlfriend who I care for deeply. I just am not myself at all and all I can do is try and get through the day. I don’t even know what’s withdrawal and what’s not anymore. Really can’t see the light today. This is just such a lonely road. I’m 13 months off and I really thought I would feel different at this stage of it. How do we get through this? It’s been so hard man.

It's very lonely and extremely difficult.

I struggled immensely with feelings like this, and often still do, although I'm starting to see that in time I will be recovered and that there is a future again. I've lost years of my life, but I'm improving and getting better, finally.

I believe that it is very likely that you will too. You've been having decent windows, that is an excellent sign, especially at this timeframe.

These thoughts are understandable in this situation, but also a lot of them are both triggered and exacerbated by withdrawal- it really does warp your mind and emotional processing. It doesn't mean that they're not valid, only that in time, you likely won't be suffering like this and feeling this way, when it comes to you wondering what is withdrawal and what is not.

I understand that both you and @Sophia feel like you want to return to normality, and that is why you have tried alcohol, but I see it causing harm and setbacks time and time again and I really would recommend just leaving it until you're much, much better. I regularly get so much pushback when I say this but I really do have to emphasise that I've watched it cause harm so, so many times that I've lost track, and that's just me seeing it, there's a 15+ year history of this on SA too. It's just not worth it.

You're able to go out with friends and be in situations where you might drink alcohol, it's totally possible to be there and get something from that without drinking, and many can't do this at all. I would suggest reframing those situations and interactions with friends and trying to extract the value from them that you can instead of approaching them with desperation to be 100% healthy right now, today.

It is more likely that you will be healthier, more quickly, if you don't drink alcohol in withdrawal, and getting through this quicker and better is surely the goal vs having a drink.

Thanks for you words of support guys. I think I have chronic telogen effluvium. I’ll never take oral medication for it but could I use topical minoxidil on my scalp? If any knows that would be helpful.

@Wildgoose is this a lifelong/longterm issue or has it been an issue since these drugs came into the picture, as there have been a number of others who have experienced hair loss as a result of them/WD?

Minoxidil and finasteride can cause a syndrome that's not too dissimilar to WD in some users, I suggest searching for "post finasteride syndrome". I would be very nervous about taking it personally, but I'd be interested first to hear more details as above.

26 minutes ago, Luke said:

@Wildgoose is this a lifelong/longterm issue or has it been an issue since these drugs came into the picture, as there have been a number of others who have experienced hair loss as a result of them/WD?

Minoxidil and finasteride can cause a syndrome that's not too dissimilar to WD in some users, I suggest searching for "post finasteride syndrome". I would be very nervous about taking it personally, but I'd be interested first to hear more details as above.

Seemed to have come into the picture around 2023 when I was on sertraline and has continued since. Don’t know if that’s a coincidence or not though. No chance I’m taking finasteride or oral minoxidil anyways. Also don’t know if the withdrawal is exacerbating it or playing a factor. Trichologist said it was excessive shedding and not baldness. Hope she’s right. Hard to trust anyone who claims they’re a ‘specialist’ after this whole ordeal.

8 hours ago, Luke said:

understand that both you and @Sophia feel like you want to return to normality,

Yeah I honestly been in so many social settings already and normally I don’t drink. Usually my head hurts so so badly anyways, the last thing I want is more poision in my body. But idk sometimes I just get fed up and test the waters. I think I would feel quite relieved if I get a bit of pleasure from it and feel some form of normalc🙈… which I never do haha…

Edited September 7Sep 7 by Sophia

1 hour ago, Sophia said:

Yeah I honestly been in so many social settings already and normally I don’t drink. Usually my head hurts so so badly anyways, the last thing I want is more poision in my body. But idk sometimes I just get fed up and test the waters. I think I would feel quite relieved if I get a bit of pleasure from it and feel some form of normalc🙈… which I never do haha…

1 hour ago, Sophia said:

Yeah I honestly been in so many social settings already and normally I don’t drink. Usually my head hurts so so badly anyways, the last thing I want is more poision in my body. But idk sometimes I just get fed up and test the waters. I think I would feel quite relieved if I get a bit of pleasure from it and feel some form of normalc🙈… which I never do haha…

Im the same. Have you seen improvements though over time?

Yeah I can’t deny I am improving but I still feel completely altered… maybe I am only 20% healed now and in my windows a little higher?

My emotional depth is still gone and I have so many odd head symptoms. My brain doesn’t feel like a human brain anymore :(

Also still deal with the dry eyes. I think I will start to take the eye drops my eye doctor prescribed because my eyes are becoming unbearable.

10 hours ago, Luke said:

I understand that both you and @Sophia feel like you want to return to normality, and that is why you have tried alcohol, but I see it causing harm and setbacks time and time again and I really would recommend just leaving it until you're much, much better. I regularly get so much pushback when I say this but I really do have to emphasise that I've watched it cause harm so, so many times that I've lost track, and that's just me seeing it, there's a 15+ year history of this on SA too. It's just not worth it.

I agree. i used to try alcohol at times when in wd before i discovered this forum and one time after 4 cans i didint even feel any pleasure from being tipsy, i just felt anxious and like **** so i put a break on alcohol after that experience if i remember correctly. I still smoke cigarettes though and eat junk food which i worry will hinder my progress but it is so hard to get rid of things like that when they bring me comfort. Luckily neither have made my symptoms worse so far.

10 minutes ago, Sophia said:

Yeah I can’t deny I am improving but I still feel completely altered… maybe I am only 20% healed now and in my windows a little higher?

My emotional depth is still gone and I have so many odd head symptoms. My brain doesn’t feel like a human brain anymore :(

Also still deal with the dry eyes. I think I will start to take the eye drops my eye doctor prescribed because my eyes are becoming unbearable.

I can relate to that. Im also in a spot where i feel only about 20% healed but im sure that both of us will get the rest of that 80% in time! I tend to describe my brain as soup because its basically how id imagine my brain looking like while feeling like this haha. I have eye problems too, my vision blurs and i have light sensitivity now along with other stuff. We'll get through this though, just gotta have patience and resilience!

Edited September 7Sep 7 by Some0n3

1 hour ago, Sophia said:

Yeah I can’t deny I am improving but I still feel completely altered… maybe I am only 20% healed now and in my windows a little higher?

My emotional depth is still gone and I have so many odd head symptoms. My brain doesn’t feel like a human brain anymore :(

Also still deal with the dry eyes. I think I will start to take the eye drops my eye doctor prescribed because my eyes are becoming unbearable.

I get you. I wonder since we have had similar symptoms if it’s due to the fluoxetine? I was definitely more numb on it then sertraline so maybe our brains are still adjusting. I cannot wait for the day when this is over. I’m still trying to do gigs and work on my music but it’s very tough at times. If that day comes where we fully heal I think I’ll be grateful forever. Maybe we will become more resilient and content. I’m hoping for that. That at least we would have gotten some wisdom or perspective. Keep powering on.

1 hour ago, Sophia said:

Yeah I can’t deny I am improving but I still feel completely altered… maybe I am only 20% healed now and in my windows a little higher?

My emotional depth is still gone and I have so many odd head symptoms. My brain doesn’t feel like a human brain anymore :(

Also still deal with the dry eyes. I think I will start to take the eye drops my eye doctor prescribed because my eyes are becoming unbearable.

Very well said! I dream of that day were I feel normal again! Anxiety and depression are not so scary anymore after this experience, feeling things is a blessing haha 🥹

On 9/7/2026 at 5:18 PM, Wildgoose said:

Seemed to have come into the picture around 2023 when I was on sertraline and has continued since. Don’t know if that’s a coincidence or not though. No chance I’m taking finasteride or oral minoxidil anyways. Also don’t know if the withdrawal is exacerbating it or playing a factor. Trichologist said it was excessive shedding and not baldness. Hope she’s right. Hard to trust anyone who claims they’re a ‘specialist’ after this whole ordeal.

It's not possible to say for certain, obviously, but I wouldn't discount the drug being the cause of the excessive shedding. We have members here who experienced hair loss at points during withdrawal and after coming off their drugs.

On 9/7/2026 at 6:20 PM, Sophia said:

Yeah I honestly been in so many social settings already and normally I don’t drink. Usually my head hurts so so badly anyways, the last thing I want is more poision in my body. But idk sometimes I just get fed up and test the waters. I think I would feel quite relieved if I get a bit of pleasure from it and feel some form of normalc🙈… which I never do haha…

I honestly don't think it's worth testing it at all. Even if you did get some feeling or pleasure from it, it has a significant chance of setting back the progress you've made.

I don't think that's worth risking at all. You've shown promising early signs of things starting to move the right way- I absolutely believe that you will go on to recover, it's just a question of more time and not interrupting that process.

4 hours ago, Luke said:

I don't think that's worth risking at all. You've shown promising early signs of things starting to move the right way- I absolutely believe that you will go on to recover, it's just a question of more time and not interrupting that process.

You are absolutely right, thank you for the reminder!

Venting today… I’m looking back at photos of me when I was 20 years old, before the dpdr hit me after smoking too much weed. That was 4 years ago now… I remember life feeling vibrant, intense at times but so real. Ever since the dpdr and then going on meds because of it and the withdrawal my life has changed and I still have not felt that same fullness or realness since. It makes me anxious and sad to think that 4 years would have passed without me feeling like I was in my own story of life. Even though I kept showing up (sometimes), I hate the feeling that I was such happier, fitter and felt like myself back then. I’m 24 now and I feel like I’ll never get that back. It’s all I want. I think I would sacrifice everything to get that back. The amount of time passing makes me worried that this is a problem that can’t be resolved. I’m scared man, I can’t lie.

On 9/7/2026 at 8:32 AM, Wildgoose said:

could I use topical minoxidil on my scalp? If any knows that would be helpful.

FWIW after I tapered off ADs, I tapered off of finasteride after being on it for around 3 years this latest time. As I'm sure you know there is a lot of discussion about side effects of that med. It took me around 6 months to taper to zero, and was much more difficult than I anticipated, possibly because my CNS was sensitized while tapering Bupropion.

I figure if it was that difficult to taper off of, then I'm really glad I no longer take it. Just my 2 cents.

On 9/9/2026 at 11:06 PM, Wildgoose said:

Venting today… I’m looking back at photos of me when I was 20 years old, before the dpdr hit me after smoking too much weed. That was 4 years ago now… I remember life feeling vibrant, intense at times but so real. Ever since the dpdr and then going on meds because of it and the withdrawal my life has changed and I still have not felt that same fullness or realness since. It makes me anxious and sad to think that 4 years would have passed without me feeling like I was in my own story of life. Even though I kept showing up (sometimes), I hate the feeling that I was such happier, fitter and felt like myself back then. I’m 24 now and I feel like I’ll never get that back. It’s all I want. I think I would sacrifice everything to get that back. The amount of time passing makes me worried that this is a problem that can’t be resolved. I’m scared man, I can’t lie.

Hello :), just read your post. I know it is hard. dpdr feels scary. Do you still smoke weed? (Pls don't.......)

But you will be fine someday. You are very young. Even if it will take time, you will heal.

3 minutes ago, Glimmery said:

Hello :), just read your post. I know it is hard. dpdr feels scary. Do you still smoke weed? (Pls don't.......)

But you will be fine someday. You are very young. Even if it will take time, you will heal.

Hi, thanks for your words. I don’t smoke weed because of that dpdr spell and haven’t since. I like to think that the dpdr is gone and my symptoms are due to withdrawal and readjustment. I hope so, it’s been a very hard experience all of this. Hope we can heal from this!

5 minutes ago, Glimmery said:

Hello :), just read your post. I know it is hard. dpdr feels scary. Do you still smoke weed? (Pls don't.......)

But you will be fine someday. You are very young. Even if it will take time, you will heal.

5 minutes ago, Glimmery said:

Hello :), just read your post. I know it is hard. dpdr feels scary. Do you still smoke weed? (Pls don't.......)

But you will be fine someday. You are very young. Even if it will take time, you will heal.

6 minutes ago, Glimmery said:

Hello :), just read your post. I know it is hard. dpdr feels scary. Do you still smoke weed? (Pls don't.......)

But you will be fine someday. You are very young. Even if it will take time, you will heal.

How long have you been in withdrawal and are you getting better?

9 minutes ago, Wildgoose said:

How long have you been in withdrawal and are you getting better?

I have been in WD on and off since 2020. But at first I did not know it was WD, doctors thought it was burn out. So I did a reinstatement, after months of awful symptoms, where I could barley move I was getting relief for months. After that having new attempts to get off, realizing it was WD before. Then did a very slow taper for about 3 year time. Now off since almost 10 moth and still in WD........ The slow taper definitely felt different from the short taper, but I am still having to many symptoms for my taste........ I also got long covid during the process........ well, what shall I say? It is difficult.

But I am glad to hear that you stopped the weed eventually, I know so many people who had difficulties with weed and still continued to smoke because of peer pressure and other reasons. How is your healing? Do you have windows?

3 hours ago, Glimmery said:

I have been in WD on and off since 2020. But at first I did not know it was WD, doctors thought it was burn out. So I did a reinstatement, after months of awful symptoms, where I could barley move I was getting relief for months. After that having new attempts to get off, realizing it was WD before. Then did a very slow taper for about 3 year time. Now off since almost 10 moth and still in WD........ The slow taper definitely felt different from the short taper, but I am still having to many symptoms for my taste........ I also got long covid during the process........ well, what shall I say? It is difficult.

But I am glad to hear that you stopped the weed eventually, I know so many people who had difficulties with weed and still continued to smoke because of peer pressure and other reasons. How is your healing? Do you have windows?

Yeah I’ve had some windows the last one was maybe the one where I felt the most normal (still not 100% tho). But I’m in a wave right now it seems due to drinking that wine last week. I have some important stuff coming up so I hope it eases soon. I’ll be 14 months off soon, hoping for an easier year next year and hopefully full recovery sooner rather than later but who knows. It’s difficult alright putting it mildly. Have you had windows?

2 hours ago, Wildgoose said:

Yeah I’ve had some windows the last one was maybe the one where I felt the most normal (still not 100% tho). But I’m in a wave right now it seems due to drinking that wine last week. I have some important stuff coming up so I hope it eases soon. I’ll be 14 months off soon, hoping for an easier year next year and hopefully full recovery sooner rather than later but who knows. It’s difficult alright putting it mildly. Have you had windows?

I also had windows, mostly during tapering. I was afraid, but also really looking forward reaching zero and I hoped that I would have been better after removing celexa for good. As I got rid of it in another attempt in 2020, I felt so good in the beginning and lost about 16 pounds after the first few months. This time, after a very slow taper, being at zero feels different.

Now, I only had rare windows since I quit celexa, losing weight is much slower after the slow taper, than after the other attempts. I felt a bit calmer in general, after the removal, what now unfortunately turned in a freeze like mode. As well as almost a permanent anxiety that feels artificial, if you understand what I mean by that. I used to have crying spells. They got better. Now I still sometimes have to cry, but only for like a minute and then it just stops. I even have the opposite, when I would cry normally, most of the time I can not anymore, as I am struggling with emotional numbness, a swollen body and face, freeze mode, sometimes I suddenly have to cry and a strange pain in parts of my body. I have rare windows, very rare windows, I had more windows in the past. Feeling 70% to 90% normal. I know I used to feel different and normal feels different. But to be honest I do not even remember what a 100% normal feels like. Yesterday I had a window for two to five minutes. Isn't that funny? At least I had one...... I would like it to be the other way round, having WD only for a few minutes a day would be easier. But what can we do? We need to wait patiently.

Edited September 14Sep 14 by Glimmery

Hey guys interesting update. Played a gig last Friday and it went very well I didn’t have the weird out of it feeling and I was pretty present. I was nervous the week leading up to it but then I just got excited the 2 days before it. I felt happy like almost wired and very confident in my ability. My sleep was also affected struggling to fall asleep. It felt fake like I was manic or something but maybe I just haven’t felt excited or confident for so long that it seems foreign. After the gig i was exhausted and slept like a baby that night.

Good to hear it went well!!! I can relate to the manic feeling… I never ever had that before the meds, but some days in withdrawal I feel like have a better mood, but it feels very chemical. I physically feel lighter as well in my head, but for me it feels very unnatural.

I think it’s the brain constantly searching homeostasis. How do you feel now?

15 minutes ago, Wildgoose said:

Hey guys interesting update. Played a gig last Friday and it went very well I didn’t have the weird out of it feeling and I was pretty present. I was nervous the week leading up to it but then I just got excited the 2 days before it. I felt happy like almost wired and very confident in my ability. My sleep was also affected struggling to fall asleep. It felt fake like I was manic or something but maybe I just haven’t felt excited or confident for so long that it seems foreign. After the gig i was exhausted and slept like a baby that night.

I can relate to feeling good and questioning if it’s mania. I felt amazing three weeks ago, like back to my old self, and I really started to get in my head about it. I think I just felt flat for awhile and that became my new norm.

Glad the gig went well.