In some cases, a simple dose reduction may help clear some of the numbness. Depressed patients with emotional blunting had significantly higher total blunting scores on OQESA than controls. Motivation and passion for/and enjoyment of creative activities. Besides, you are more likely to be experiencing emotional blunting if you become less emotional or able to cry when the context suggests it, feeling less empathy or care less about other people’s feelings, loss of motivation and drive and when things you used to enjoy have lost their excitement or don’t represent a source of enjoyment anymore. Blunting scores on a bespoke scale (OQESA) correlated with self reported depression. Not being able to respond with the same level of enjoyment that you normally would 4. Depressed patients with emotional blunting had much higher total blunting scores on OQESA than controls (42.83 ± 14.73 versus 25.73 ± 15.00, p < 0.0001) and there was a correlation between total blunting score and HAD-Depression score (Among the patients with emotional blunting, 37% had a negative perception of their condition and 38% positive. Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Though the percentage of people who experienced emotional blunting was similar between the three drug classes, there were variations. Loss of motivation and drive2 Emotional blunting often co-occu… Continue working with your doctor to find the right formula of medications, therapy, and lifestyle to overcome and manage your depression over the long term. Feeling less empathy for others1 3. Emotional blunting Emotional blunting or emotional numbing refers to when your feelings and emotions are so dulled that you don’t feel up or down, just simply feel like in a neutral kind of state. In the scientific literature, such effects have been also named SSRIs-induced indifference, but disagreements exist on how to label this phenomenon (Wongpakaran et al., 2007; Price et al., 2009). One of the most used psychotherapies is CBT because it is intended to change how you think and your behaviour. The survey was carried out by the Vision Critical organization, based in Paris, utilising 3 … Of the 819 people included in the study, 38% regarded it as a positive outcome of treatment,All three of the most commonly reported negative side effects of antidepressants can be considered forms of emotional blunting. Read our Emotional blunting often co-occurs with other symptoms such as slowed thinking, decreased libido, and loss of concentration. And many people may debate between taking the medicine that is going to get them to feel better but losing a part of themselves. We have previously used qualitative methods to develop an appropriate scale, the Oxford Questionnaire on the Emotional Side-Effects of Antidepressants (OQESA).Six hundred and sixty nine depressed patients on treatment and 150 recovered (formerly depressed) controls (aged ≥18 years) participated in this internet-based survey. When compared to controls, this group of patients reported a reduced ability to cry, irritation, care about other people’s feelings, sadness, erotic dreaming, creativity, surprise, anger, expression of their feelings, worry over things or situations, sexual pleasure and interest in sex. Emotions have been specially investigated by neuroscientists, where the idea that the brain can represent emotional aspects from the interpretation of environmental stimuli in certain brain areas has become a widely accepted and used theory. Before antidepressants, we used to just party and throw anything down our gullets we could find. Ironically, when you have a “flat” mood (which prominently includes “emotional blunting”), it can be a cardinal sign of depression in the first place! You simply feel "blah." The authors of this recent study (Goodwin et al, 2017) had previously developed a scale: the Oxford Questionnaire on the Emotional Side-Effects of Antidepressants(OQuESA) (Price et al, 2009). They also reported reduced inspiration, imagination. This was an internet-based survey in which 669 depressed patients on treatment and 150 recovered (formerly depressed) controls (aged ≥18 years) participated. Unlike the others, Wellbutrin does not target a chemical transmitter in the brain—known as serotonin—that all of the other drugs so. Surprisingly, not everyone viewed emotional blunting in the same way. 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