Ive heard a lot of people experiencing going through life numb or a zombie feeling on antidepressants. Does that mean that the antidepressant isnt working and that your still depressed? I dont understand how raising your serotonin level will make you have less feeling, doesnt raising your serotonin level make you more awake and more alert? Depression itself makes you feel numb and more serotonin can only be a good thing, right?

Hi, it's not as simple as raising your serotonin to the 'right' level. The 'zombie feeling' may come from the more consistant level of serotonin (and other factors) due to the drug, rather than the level fluctuating down, then back up as it might do so naturally. The drug may promote a more stable level of seratonin which may seem to take away highs and lows and just leave 'the middle'. In the end, what ever is going on, you may have to assess if the benefits outweigh the side effects.

hi posh36,

there are those who have experienced the numb or zombie feelings. however everybody reacts differently with different meds and stablizing levels. it's kind of like someones blood pressure, while mine is a norm of 120 over 80 but for my mother her norm is9 over 60, if mine goes the slightest little bit up or down i feel it now matter if it's just a couple of #'s. i guess my point is that for each idividual the levels of a somewhat norm of serotonin may vary.

The effect of antidepressant are basically a two step process (first is chemical, next is physical), not a one step process as you might think.

1. They block the reuptake of the seritonin between nerve cells in the brain by plugging up the nerve pumps that suck up seratonin between nerve firings, hence increasing the seratonin levels between nerves in the brain.

2. Your brain quickly notices the extra seritonin floating around between its cells, and then over a period of a few weeks will physically retract some of receptors to seritonin in the nerve cells, so as to not be so affected on signal transmission. The time this takes is why antidepressents are not immediately effective.

Therefore the end result after 4-6 weeks is that there is more seratonin within your brain synapes but each burst is noticed less. Kind of like jumping into a bath tub compared to jumping into a pool and watching the waves created. hence the "less feeling" feeling

Funky, I've never heard it explained like that before 0.o The 'official' explanations have always left me a little lost.
Thanks :)