Is there hope for post-SSRI sexual dysfunction?
Antidepressant use has skyrocketed in the US over the past few years as the stigma around taking medication for mental health has dissipated. However, some experts point out that while individuals have a right to take these medications, they also have a right to be informed of long-term consequences after stopping the use of SSRIs. One such cause for concern is PSSD.
What is PSSD?
PSSD, which stands for post-SSRI sexual dysfunction, is a recognized medical condition due to taking SSRI antidepressants. While people can experience sexual side effects during the use of SSRIs, PSSD refers to a long-term syndrome impacting individuals who have stopped taking these medications.
Researchers estimate that between 40-70% of people experience long-term sexual difficulties after stopping the use of SSRIs, and this occurs regardless of gender, age, or ethnicity.
Why this occurs is not fully known. However, patients who have used these medications for as little as nine days and up to 9 or 10 years and beyond have reported these problems. Symptoms associated with PSSD include loss of genital sensation and lack of sexual pleasure.
Treating PSSD
Although there is no known treatment for PSSD, some promising healing approaches exist. For example, scientific studies validate mindfulness as a treatment to improve sexual feeling and function.
Mindfulness-Based Treatments
With origins in Eastern teachings, mainstream clinical practice now incorporates this philosophy using Mindfulness-Based Treatments (MBT). Numerous research studies demonstrate that mindfulness practices can produce beneficial results for people suffering from mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. A subset of the clinical application of mindfulness is sexual mindfulness, which research reveals is efficacious for treating sexuality-related disorders.
Sexual mindfulness incorporates principles of awareness, curiosity, and presence while avoiding judgment of what is occurring in the present moment. In multiple studies, people who practiced this special form of attention experienced significant improvements in sexual feeling and function.
Sexual mindfulness is a learned skill that requires dedication, patience, and a shift in perspective. This approach to treatment teaches us to slow down, tune into our body, be aware of any and all sensations, and have a compassionate rather than judgmental mindset.
While some may view sexual intimacy as a goal-oriented activity, a performance-based pursuit, sexual mindfulness challenges this notion by removing expectations about outcomes and placing the focus on moment-by-moment awareness. Eliminating any pressure to perform is essential.
Experts often advise that couples introduce mindfulness practices to intimacy through non-sexual touch practice. For example, simply naming out loud the sensation you are experiencing while receiving sensual (non-erotic) touch from your partner is a sexual mindfulness practice. The emphasis is on slowing down and developing present-moment focus.
This mindfulness practice involves noticing, feeling, inhabiting, and naming the sensation. It is about dropping all ideas of how you expect it to feel or memories of how touch may have felt before and discovering the physical sensation in the moment. The mindfulness approach to intimacy involves being non-judgmental with ourselves when we get distracted and compassionately bringing our focus back to here-and-now awareness.
Sexual mindfulness is not an overnight cure; however, it can offer hope to those who lack quality of life due to diminished sexual feeling. While some people may wish for a pill to restore diminished sensation, this treatment approach empowers the patient to have a sense of agency over their healing.
It is well-documented that the human brain has the astounding capacity to relearn new ways of being – a phenomenon known as neuroplasticity. For sufferers of PSSD, there is reason to be optimistic. Mindfulness can rewire the brain and restore connection to sensation and pleasure.