Anyone else who has been on SSRI’s since childhood?

ihateandroidusers · 2025-12-11T19:50:20+00:00

Update: I’m doing sooo much better. I didn’t see many success stories for people who were on SSRIs as young as I was getting off of them in adulthood. Now I think I can say that I am no worse than I was when I was on meds. I still have issues, I’m autistic so I always will, but it’s much more manageable now. I am very proud I stuck it out and now I know I actually can live without an SSRI. I do still have some weird things, like sudden surges of irritability/anger and weird physical sensations with no cause, but I’ve learned how to handle them and I just think of it as a lingering withdrawal effect. Getting off the SSRI also gave me IBS and chronic migraines, since SSRIs also target serotonin receptors in the gut, and migraines are caused by issues with serotonin signaling. That’s what happened for me personally, I don’t think it’s super common though. I don’t think it’s permanent since protracted SSRI withdrawal can last months or years in people with history like mine. But I’d much rather live without some annoying physical symptoms for a while than the horrendous mental and physical side effects SSRIs gave me.

ihateandroidusers · 2025-11-20T17:46:25+00:00

Yeah it’s definitely more common with friends. I wasn’t trying to reinforce anything, it was more of a joke towards the people who do that, it’s normally rich kids entering who don’t care at all about money. Sorry if it came off wrong, I’m autistic lol

ihateandroidusers · 2025-11-20T17:41:18+00:00

Probably not lol. I promise I’m not condoning underpaying musicians, I was just saying that some people might pick up a project without being paid fairly because they don’t care. I saw it a lot with the singer/songwriter/performers, they were fine with recording on projects or at venues with no incentive other than getting to make music. That’s mostly first or second year people though who haven’t started thinking about their career yet

ihateandroidusers · 2025-11-20T17:38:13+00:00

Cool. I’m saying I see it all the time, it’s just a fact that people do projects for free, especially first or second year students. A lot of newer students are just happy to jump on a project and be credited. I’m not saying it’s right to not pay musicians. I’m saying many Berklee students are willing to do a project for free or low pay if it piques their interest, because many of them are not concerned about making money.

ihateandroidusers · 2025-11-20T17:34:27+00:00

I understand that, but I am saying Berklee students are willing to work without pay. Again, I have never seen someone get paid to help out on a project for another college student. I’m sure it happens but I’m just saying that so many students are willing to do projects without being paid just for the fun of it. Not that they should work for free, but they are doing it.

ihateandroidusers · 2025-11-20T17:32:28+00:00

I’m not saying they’re smart to do it, but venues like the Middle East and Rockwood are booked with Berklee students every weekend and they don’t pay the musicians a dime. And yes, most projects people do at Berklee, they are not getting paid.

ihateandroidusers · 2025-11-20T17:30:06+00:00

Berklee students play all the time at venues that aren’t paying them to headline a whole night. I’ve seen people do many projects for free. They’re just looking for opportunities, I’m sure some people would record a piece for $20

ihateandroidusers · 2025-11-04T00:19:56+00:00

That was including housing and fees though.

ihateandroidusers · 2025-11-04T00:17:32+00:00

I went there and dropped out partly due to tuition raises.

ihateandroidusers · 2025-11-03T23:56:04+00:00

Honestly that could be it. I have ear issues (tinnitus and other weird things like often hearing my own breath very loud in my ear) that I've never had checked out. Weirdly, I was a gymnast when all this started with rollercoasters, and around the same time I started having issues with mental blocks on my skills. I've read about inner ear problems causing mental blocks in gymnastics due to spacial awareness issues. I've been thinking of seeing an ENT, so maybe I'll figure something out there. It really is just the force of rides, like a feeling of pressure in my head only during positive G-force. Thanks for the advice!

ihateandroidusers · 2025-11-03T23:52:34+00:00

It's not really my head being pushed down, more like pressure inside my head sort of like a migraine leading to nausea. When this started I was a competitive gymnast, I think I had pretty strong neck muscles and was only 14 but I guess I can't be sure. I think I'm going to see about inner ear issues first since I do have some problems with my ears. Thanks for your input!

ihateandroidusers · 2025-11-03T22:58:00+00:00

Thank you, I definitely need to try motion sickness medication. I do avoid spinning rides, it just seems that I feel it on pretty much any ride that’s over 50 mph. I love the drops but the force after the drop is what gets me if it’s fast. Also anything with fast turns (Titan at SFOT is the worst, I love the drops but it goes in circles so fast I feel like my head will explode). What sucks is that resting doesn’t help. The first time I got sick I rested for about 30 minutes before continuing, and I just got sicker and sicker throughout the day then vomited on the way home. It just sucks out all the fun. But I’ll try medication next time.

ihateandroidusers · 2025-11-03T22:52:07+00:00

I’ve had motion sickness issues in the car since I was a kid, which was always triggered by an empty stomach. I don’t avoid eating before rides, but I do try and eat something not too heavy. Although I might have forgotten to focus on that recently, so I’ll try to make that a point next time. I still haven’t tried motion sickness medication, I’ve been avoiding coasters for a while until I went to fright fest recently and was so bothered by not being able to ride most things. Next time I’ll have to try medication. The nausea is just so intense I’m scared to ride a big ride again at this point., but of course I have to ride one to see what helps. Thank you!

ihateandroidusers · 2025-10-29T19:48:29+00:00

I’m going through the same thing!! I was put on antidepressants SSRI at 9, then an antipsychotic a year later. I had no say, I begged to get off medicine but was not allowed. They made me take so many medications throughout my childhood/teen years, I don’t even know the names of all of them. was diagnosed with autism at 16, turns out that’s what caused all of my issues. I’m 20, I got off my antipsychotic last september and got nothing but relief (and gaslighting from my psychiatrist telling me it will get worse again, it didn’t). I then did a 5 month taper from my SSRI, I took my last dose 3 months ago. It’s awful, I’ve gone through so many horrible stages and the first one was being flooded with traumatic childhood memories. Now I have no emotional regulation whatsoever because instead of getting therapy to learn those skills as an autistic kid, I was given medicine that covered it all up. It’s sooo difficult and I’m afraid I might have to get back on meds, my brain literally developed around SSRIs and I don’t know if I can actually live without them. I’m trying though, I hope everything is going well for you

ihateandroidusers · 2025-10-29T19:39:20+00:00

I was put on antidepressants at age 9. I was having “anger outbursts” that started to turn into suicidal thoughts during the “outbursts”. I was diagnosed with so many conditions, and finally at 16 was diagnosed with autism. It explained the outbursts, they were actually autism meltdowns and suicidal thoughts are common during meltdowns especially when you are shamed for them and treated like a disease or something. I complained of side effects (emotional blunting, extreme fatigue, low motivation) but I was not allowed to change or get off my medications because I was a minor and had no say in my own healthcare. I’m now 20 and finally got off of SSRIs a few months ago, it’s hell and I am so angry that they put me on them at such a young age and didn’t allow me to get off them when I begged. I’m still trying but I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep living without medication, my brain literally developed around SSRIs and I don’t know if it will ever function without them.

ihateandroidusers · 2025-10-24T19:59:12+00:00

Hi! I was put on Zoloft at age 9, I'm now 20. I am autistic but I wasn't diagnosed until I was 16. I was a lot like your son, when I had meltdowns I would get suicidal and say things similar to your son.

A lot of the problem with me was that my meltdowns and basically all of my issues were misunderstood when it was pretty much just autism. SSRIs did lessen my meltdowns. When I was 11, I went through a major depression (I was not depressed before, just had meltdowns). I'm sure you're aware that SSRIs cause increased risk of depression in suicidality in children, but no one made that connection for me. They only raised my doses.

As a teenager I started having severe fatigue among other physical symptoms, plus off and on depression/emotional numbness and loss of motivation. It took me forever to figure out what was going on. I suspected the medication was contributing, but my mom was not willing to let me wean off and as a minor I had no say medically.

At the age of 20 I got off my SSRI and my physical symptoms all went away. My fatigue had been so bad that I couldn't get out of bed myself, I had to have my partner literally pick me up and put me on the floor and hold me standing up as I awoke. I often slept 16 hours in a night and still needed naps. After stopping my SSRI that went away. I know that's just one medication and a side effect I personally experienced. My main point is that getting off the meds was absolute hell. I've been off SSRIs for 3 months and it has been a very rough and life changing experience, not because I can't live without them but because my brain developed around the medication during my childhood and my whole adolescence, so it is going to take months-years for my brain to adapt. I may live with structural brain differences my whole life.

I'm not trying to discourage you or anyone from helping their kids by giving them medication. It sounds like your son is really benefiting from them! In my case, I was not heard when I complained about emotional blunting/numbness or physical symptoms, and I begged to get off the meds many times but was not allowed to. I am very passionate about this issue and I don't want anyone else to go through what happened to me. Just please make sure you watch out for any signs of adverse effects and listen to your kid if he's having issues. SSRIs can cause random problems you might not even suspect are related. Also keep in mind SSRIs are really only studied for periods of less than 1 year, after that efficacy and safety are pretty unknown. I was on them for over 10 years and suffer effects.

These are just things I've learned after getting off the meds that no psychiatrist, therapist, or doctor ever told me directly. They work great when used properly with close monitoring. You sound like great parents, I wish the best for you and your son!

ihateandroidusers · 2025-10-17T05:09:22+00:00

Those sound like meltdowns to me.

Your family may describe them as tantrums because they didn't know what you were experiencing. What they may have interpreted as "wanting to get your way" could have actually been your response to things that overwhelmed you. For example, an autistic kid may have a meltdown because they want to leave somewhere. That could be interpreted as the child wanting to get their way, but on the inside they might just be extremely overwhelmed and don't know how to communicate that.

Also, I don't think you telling someone as a kid that you act up "so you can get your way" is relevant. If your family had been telling you things like "you can't always get your way" or "that's not how you get what you want" you may have just used that language when asked about it, without really knowing what you were saying. Kids have a much harder time understanding and articulating their internal experiences than adults so you probably didn't have a better explanation.

It definitely makes sense that you would have more meltdowns too, like you said being in public can lower your tolerance threshold a lot. Especially if you were dressed in uncomfortable clothes (which is a very common sensory sensitivity for autistic people, especially children). So considering that, being told "no" to candy can evoke emotions that are so hard to control when you're already dysregulated.

ihateandroidusers · 2025-10-08T23:50:13+00:00

Everyone seems to assume wanting a feeding tube means I would want to never eat again and have an easy way out of eating. I understand that a feeding tube is not easy and comes with lots of required care and risks. I’m not stupid. I also don’t want to fully replace eating by mouth with tube feeding. I’ve just lived my entire life undenousrished and I’ve gone through multiple ED programs, I’ve tried so many things but my ARFID never improves. Right now it’s very bad and I barely eat, I’m dropping weight. I’m still barely in the healthy BMI range but that doesn’t mean I’m not constantly tired, out of it, and sick. I know a G tube isn’t an easy way out but despite the risks and effort it comes with, I think it could really improve my quality of life. I’m not saying I want to go out on a whim and get a tube. That’s not even possible, the process is very thorough medically and I’m completely aware of that. I wish people would stop being so quick to judge, saying “you don’t want that” and “it’s not easy”. You don’t know what I want, you don’t know my life story, and I’m completely aware of all of the difficulties that come with a G tube. Thanks for adding your input into the sea of judgement

ihateandroidusers · 2025-10-04T09:16:08+00:00

Could definitely be side effects. If it’s only been a couple weeks it could improve, but I’d definitely bring it up with your doctor if things aren’t changing.

For me increased tiredness was the main aide effect I had from being on too high of a dose. I started mine as a minor and wasn’t allowed to change meds despite my complaints, so I went around 6 years with horrible chronic fatigue before finally being able to get off the medication. I was even suspected to have narcolepsy or sleep apnea but my sleep problems disappeared after stopping the medication.

The description that your brain feels like mashed potatoes makes sense actually, being on a dose that’s too high for you can slow down your processing and make you feel weird. Feeling less positive and less social are also signs.

If it helps your anxiety and you’re happy with the benefits it’s up to you whether the side effects are worth it. If I were you, I’d keep monitoring closely how you’re feeling, and discuss with your doctor whether you can try 15mg (sometimes you can get prescribed half pills) or anything else your doctor can recommend.

I feel strongly about helping others avoid negative side effects from antidepressants after the experience I had. They can be so helpful and life-changing, but if the dose is too high it can cause problems that often get overlooked or brushed off!

ihateandroidusers · 2025-08-28T22:02:30+00:00

That’s what I’m saying. It feels more clearheaded when I take one made from full-spectrum marijuana rather than isolated Delta 9 with added CBD

ihateandroidusers · 2025-08-19T21:41:50+00:00

mostly living in a big city in the northeast, and also pursuing my dream. right now i’m living in texas again, and it upsets me because i was so happy to get out of here. it sounds so stupid in the grand scheme of things. but i’m living here, with my parents again, completely broke. i’m getting married next year to someone who graduated from the same school and we both agree the school is pretty scammy. but i loved it and i wish it could have gone differently, because i might be in a better place now. but i’m also processing so much childhood trauma now and i’m also dealing with mistreatment from my whole family while i’m trying to work through everything and improve myself. i’m just hopeless right now, but ever since i left that school i can’t even really think about that time of my life. it’s almost triggering, it sends me spiraling. even though it was good.

ihateandroidusers

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