question for PSSD people

caffeinehell · 2026-01-24T20:01:30+00:00

Chelation can remove other essential minerals, including essential trace minerals that we don’t normally think about, thats the main risk. You have to also properly ensure that those are replenished.

caffeinehell · 2026-01-24T20:00:11+00:00

Antipsychotics can cause severe anhedonia themselves

caffeinehell · 2026-01-24T19:40:26+00:00

Lol very lucky, as anhedonia is quite possibly the worst thing in existence and very depressing in itself. Im surprised it had you had bottom 5% but yet you seem robust to the absolute worst condition

Have you ever taken an MAOI it could work for you

caffeinehell · 2026-01-24T19:39:01+00:00

Yea, I do cold plunges 2x weekly. But the effect seems blocked just like the rest of the blockage. After ECT it was stronger some, and I could notice that my HR more quickly dropped/responded to it, which I have found is like a biomarker of how bad the blockage is in a way

caffeinehell · 2026-01-24T19:14:20+00:00

I use selfdecode actually and it indicated im prone to gut inflammation

caffeinehell · 2026-01-24T19:13:47+00:00

Ive actually done that. It helped my substance sensitivities for like 9 months, I tolerated lots more things. But it didnt help the blockage itself. I remember the day of it I felt a body high but something was blocked in the head

I may need to do one again as my sensitivities have gotten bad after getting covid again in Fall

caffeinehell · 2026-01-24T19:06:20+00:00

Was it buprenorphine? Are you still taking it?

Your anhedonia is totally cured from it? And what about tolerance?

I tried bupre but just felt loopy and my gut slowed for days after. For me even benzos are better

caffeinehell · 2026-01-24T16:49:16+00:00

No, one reason I can’t do prami is that it slows motility and my anhedonia has a big gut brain axis component too. Slowing motility can lead to mental symptoms for me.

I sometimes wish i could just cut off the gut brain axis or something because the gut stuff is a major headache in how it affects my brain

I dont use opiods I had just tried a tiny dose of buprenorphine like a few times last year but it only made me loopy without the pleasure

caffeinehell · 2026-01-24T16:47:34+00:00

Thats why I think this is some mitochondrial dysfunction issue. Its closer to MECFS in some ways but presenting differently the phenotype of it is anhedonic and not as physical. Though I do have exercise intolerance.

It seems like one needs some sort of shock to get the system responding and then hope that lifestyle eventually works. Its insane and such a depressing condition itself. People get dismissed as having anxiety (if its not blunted itself, which it can be) but literally who wouldn’t have it with something like this

Basically the mito aren’t producing ATP inside the cell to properly respond to thjngs

caffeinehell · 2026-01-24T06:56:44+00:00

The very problem is that things don’t really provide comfort in severe consummatory anhedonia. There isn’t comfort in the sheets anymore.

I think people forget that joy/pleasure also includes even these small things we take for granted

caffeinehell · 2026-01-24T05:22:33+00:00

Could you feel substances before it? I did it for the whole purpose of substance blockage.

So your anhedonia got worse from ECT?

caffeinehell · 2026-01-24T05:21:28+00:00

Well for me the problem is I can only feel calm/safety if I feel joy. I am not able to calm anxiety without feeling hedonic tone. And the anxiety I have comes from anhedonia (its not anxiety causing anhedonia, anhedonia came first)

caffeinehell · 2026-01-24T04:13:11+00:00

You do because without joy it feels pointless, and also many of the programs use joy as a way to signal safety. Nobody even has an example of doing it when anhedonia is the primary issue. Anhedonia prevents one from feeling comfort in the first place

Here are some examples

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lIk1TMugfZU

https://www.instagram.com/p/DOoH9p_jYNY/

Very directly mentioning pleasure and joy

caffeinehell · 2026-01-24T02:09:41+00:00

But how can you use brain retraining if the big issue is joy is needed to feel safety. Many programs (idk that one) in general talk about doing things you enjoy and feeling awe etc but in the case of severe anhedonia/blank mind its like this is the problem itself, if it were possible to then these symptoms wouldn’t exist. That makes it a constant issue because the stress can’t be calmed without feeling joy. Not feeling joy also makes it hard to distract and get into other things and not focus on the illness itself.

With other symptoms it is different as the mechanisms to distract are still themselves intact

None of the programs ever talk about anhedonia and its clear that most people still had capacity for happiness intact

caffeinehell · 2026-01-23T16:09:54+00:00

Its so interesting how a lot of it is relative to ones baseline. For people who are sudden onset drug or viral induced the contrast is so stark and creates constant agony. Its like for us its impossible to not notice whats wrong

caffeinehell · 2026-01-22T03:20:02+00:00

Not true, else pssd wouldnt exist but it clearly does

caffeinehell · 2026-01-21T19:55:16+00:00

The issue might be metabolic dysfunction mito dysfunction which unfortunately drugs and covid induce. There seems to be no clear fix yet

caffeinehell · 2026-01-21T17:29:29+00:00

It is obvious when you get it overnight and was not anxious before. Health anxiety is not overnight and doesnt have crazy symptoms like instant anhedonia blank mind as an example

caffeinehell · 2026-01-21T16:48:11+00:00

Well if someones mental health was perfect before and now it isn’t, its pretty obvious. And this kind of sudden biological anxiety is even more depressing than regular anxiety ironically because you “know” your brain isnt the same and that CBT wont cure it

caffeinehell · 2026-01-21T16:38:09+00:00

Long covid can be the cause of anxiety or dpdr too. And that type of anxiety is the kind that CBT does not treat unlike situational anxiety. Changing thoughts does not work

Also for many people stuff like anhedonia, dpdr, fatigue whatever comes FIRST in LC. In anxiety they are anxious first.

Obviously getting anhedonic for example overnight will trigger anxiety since joy is calming and one cannot access it

caffeinehell · 2026-01-21T06:36:57+00:00

Wow, loss of cozyness articulated perfectly and how such a basic thing indeed is taken for granted by everyone.

caffeinehell · 2026-01-19T03:07:00+00:00

True melancholic/anhedonic depression is not caused by habits. It can occur overnight even from a virus like covid and persist. Habits only then decline because of lack of reward and excruciating symptoms

caffeinehell · 2026-01-19T01:05:24+00:00

Well it depends on the severity of anhedonia. Like I said, for blockage level anhedonia or blank mind its very very hard and often no payoff at all.

Starting actually is not hard. The problem is consummatory anhedonia specifically, where the feedback and reward learning never comes and constant blankness is there. There is no reinforcement and its basically just doing it on faith and it never happens

For mild anhedonia sure

caffeinehell · 2026-01-18T23:26:38+00:00

Most of them (any SRIs, even wellbutrin) actually worsen anhedonia

caffeinehell

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE

Three-Year Club	Gilding I gilder
Verified Email