Do you worry about the side effects of antidepressants?

Antidepressants come in several forms. The major ones are:

• Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)
• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
• Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs)
• Tricyclics (TCAs)

In this article we are focussing on SSRIs as they are one of the most common antidepressants.

The majority of people who experience various anxiety disorders can find relief with the help of an SSRI  which is a medication that increases brain serotonin levels.  It does this by preventing the reabsorption of serotonin, meaning more serotonin is available to pass further messages between nearby nerve cells. 

Low serotonin levels are linked to anxiety and depression.  

If you would love to explore natural ways to deal with anxiety or depression grab our free guide here with our top 5 tips.

Common side effects of antidepressants

If you have been suffering from anxiety symptoms for a while and it’s likely that you have taken the steps to do something about it . For many, the first port of call is to talk to your GP and often meditation is prescribed.

If you are anything like the women inside our membership The Holistic Health Circle, you may have concerns about the side effects.

Perhaps you are wondering if this is really helping my symptoms & are there any long term dangers in taking them?

Medication can be a useful tool in bridging the gap in the short term but is it a good long term solution in becoming anxiety free?

5 common side effects of SSRIs

The side effects often mimic the symptoms of anxiety and common side effects of SSRIs can include:

1/ Insomnia – melatonin is impacted which helps the sleep wake cycle and deep sleep.  This impacts mood, appetite and more, see our Youtube video here.

2/Changes in appetite – leading to weight loss or weight gain.  Short term you may lose weight on SSRIs, as you become more tolerant to the medication you may need to increase your dose.  This can lead to cravings and therefore unwanted weight gain.  

3/ Nausea  – is one of the most common side effects, let us know in the comments below if you have had this?  This can also show up as sickness as the medication effects the gut and nervous system.

4/ Dizziness – we hear about this one a lot and it takes away your feelings of security and safety. This may leave you feeling that you can’t go shopping along or even for a walk through the risk of falling or not making it back home.  The likely cause is thought be liked to changes  in blood pressure or fluid levels. 

5/ Reduced libdio – too much serotonin can lead to a loss of sexual pleasure.  Oh dear!! Let’s avoid losing one of life’s pleasures and the knock on effects that can have on relationships.

We need a balance in our hormones, think of your hormones like an orchestra, if one instrument is out of tune the whole symphony is impacted.  It’s the same with your hormones and you can have too much of a good thing too.

Have you heard of serotonin syndrome?

It’s not common but can be serious.

This can occur when the levels of serotonin become too high in your body. 

This can be caused by a combining medications including SSRIs together or combining them with some herbs such as St John’s wort and even ceremonial grade cacao if taken in high doses.  

St John’s work and ceremonial grade cacao both increase serotonin naturally, so can be a good natural solution but need to be used with caution if in combination with SSRI’s or MAOI’s.  Please check with the supplier of either product and your Doctor.

Symptoms serotonin syndrome can include:

• confusion
• agitation
• muscle twitching
• sweating
• shivering
• diarrhoea

The desire to numb or escape can be incredibly tempting just a few examples of how we do this are, leaning on stimulants, increasing our dependancy on alcohol, mentally checking out or even mindlessly scrolling on technology such as social media.

Good news is at hand though as we have amazing natural ways to use in conjunction with medication or as an alternative if you want to avoid that.

We use these personally daily and with the Women inside our online membership The Holistic Health Circle.

Check them out here by grabbing our free download, the 5 ways to reduce anxiety today.