Does Zoloft dull creativity?

December 2, 2008 7:58 AM

Does Zoloft dull creativity?

I'm taking a low dose of Zoloft and have noticed that my creativity is blunted. While this could be because depression makes me more creative, it could also be because Zoloft dulls my creative responses. If you have taken or are taking Zoloft, how has it affected your creativity? And how did you recover it?

posted by anonymous to health & fitness (24 comments total)

I've found that I'm slightly less creative on zoloft - but vastly more able to act on creative impulses. So for me, it balances out.
posted by dmd at 8:16 AM on December 2, 2008

I took Zoloft for post-partum depression. I remember thinking that I was less funny; I didn't have the same eye for the absurd that I did when I wasn't on it. But I was on it because I was depressed, so was it the Zoloft or the depression that made me feel less witty?
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:48 AM on December 2, 2008

Personally, Zoloft did seem to make me less creative; I felt like my "muse" had taken a vacation. That may have been because I found myself suddenly a lot more interested in things I'd been escaping from with writing, though...
posted by Gianna at 8:49 AM on December 2, 2008

Interestingly, Lexapro (supposedly of the same family of SSRIs) heightened my creativity and I had a period of very deep creativity in a lot of different areas.

Eventually, I switched to Zoloft (25mg daily), and found my creativity was - by that time - nearly completely gone. I am on a slightly higher dose now and still have no creativity.

I tended to just blame the fact that the last year has been a rough one - but when I look back to what I was writing and when, it seems to coincide very closely with the change to Zoloft. Within a month of making the switch, I had stopped writing completely.

Thanks for this question and for the self-reflection it required.
posted by greekphilosophy at 8:57 AM on December 2, 2008

my copywriter was on and off zoloft for a while and she'd always complain she never had a single good idea while on it. she likened to not having slept enough and being in a bit of a haze thereafter.
posted by krautland at 9:01 AM on December 2, 2008

In the bedroom it does.
posted by aereoperro at 9:04 AM on December 2, 2008 [2 favorites]

There's a book out called Against Happiness which argues that melancholy is an enormous driving force behind creative endeavors. You may want to look at it. The reviews do seem to point out that it's slightly florid and tangential.
posted by trotter at 9:17 AM on December 2, 2008

This question has been asked before, you should read the responses in this thread. My understanding is that depression leads to a lot of self-analysis and over-thinking. Usually this leads to fairly negative things like catastrophising or suicidal idealization. Sometimes overthinking something complex and a touch of obsessiveness can lead to interesting results.

People change when they get a therapeutic effect from their treatments. It may be the case that your creative output might change or that you'll see your depressed self's work as being pretty crummy.

Its also worth mentioning that creativity isnt something thats easy to quantify. What may be the case here is that your SSRI has a relaxing effect like an anti-anxiety medication, so you may feel less jumpy and quick-witted like you would after a couple cups of coffee. Or less driven to prove something. Or less angry at the world.

That said, its important to realize that you should not throw out the baby with the bathwater. Even if your treatment changes you, you should be mindful of the fact that you need this treatment and you seeked it out for a reason. You'll probably find that after a while on these meds your creative energies will come back but in a different way as youre going to be a slightly different person.
posted by damn dirty ape at 9:27 AM on December 2, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'm a musician (classical), and while on Zoloft, my music was completely flat. Technically fine, but no emotion. I couldn't find that same spark, honestly.
posted by SNWidget at 9:28 AM on December 2, 2008

I think it depends on where one's creativity comes from. For me, I'm only creative when I'm happy. If I am feeling the melancholia, I have none. Similarly, when it takes all I have just to do the laundry and go to work, I have no "emotional" capacity left to be creative with.

But for others, creativity only comes from anxiety or wallowing in the darkness. They are only comfortable being angry, anxious, sad or just dark. Clearly, boosting ones mood would stifle this creativity. But as a caveat, I have heard plenty of stories of people who were suffering, took an SSRI, and felt uncreative. But that after a while, they realized that they had learned over a lifetime of depression and self medicating that their anxiety and depression were crutches for creativity, and that once they relearned to be both happy and creative at the same time, their creativity returned. And for the better.

Similarly, if someone has trained themselves to use their creativity as an outlet for depression, as a therapy of sorts, when the depression is gone, the whole creative process is turned upside down.

And there is the possibility that people who felt their creativity sapped by SSRIs have been misdiagnosed, and an SSRI isn't the right solution to their problem.
posted by gjc at 9:35 AM on December 2, 2008 [1 favorite]

1) Yes. 2) Stop taking antidepressants.
posted by shownomercy

This is really bad, irresponsible advice. Depression kills, a lack of creativity doesn't...

In the bedroom it does.
posted by aereoperro

Again, depends on the person. Where does ones sexuality come from? It's not the drug, it's the person and what they are suffering from, and whether their sexuality is wrapped up in that.
posted by gjc at 9:40 AM on December 2, 2008

Creativity and antidepressants are not a zero-sum game. If you find that any medication or other necessity impacts your creativity, that doesn't mean you can't seek out other things that can counteract that.

Coffee. Exercise. Fresh air. Puppies. Whatever. There are lots of things and activities out there that can help you be more creative.

Alternatively, try writing that book after you've strung yourself up from the ceiling rafters.
posted by wfrgms at 9:50 AM on December 2, 2008

When I was on Zoloft, I just felt like I was wrapped up in a giant gray fluffy coccoon of "who gives a shit, yay, everything is great!" Think of the happy fish puffs in Don Hertzefeldt's Rejected-- that was me. "Everybody DANCE! Who cares that life sucks!"

Certainly made it difficult to get anything done, never mind creative endeavors.

Also, yeah, don't abruptly dump your meds-- if it's bugging you, go have a talk with your prescribing doctor. There might be another medication more suited to your situation.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 9:54 AM on December 2, 2008

It being most answers here are anecdoctal: I'll add mine. I know a woman whose only creative endeavors date to the period of time in her life when she was on Zoloft. Mostly they were mediocre.

I think gjc's first answer is the best answer.
posted by crush-onastick at 9:55 AM on December 2, 2008

I was on Zoloft in high school and the one word that sums up my experience is APATHY. I couldn't bring myself to be emotionally invested in anything I did.

I had a similar, though much more profound experience when I tried SAM-e, which is also linked to serotonin. It basically turned me into a robot.
posted by Menomena at 10:01 AM on December 2, 2008

Answering on behalf of a friend who said (paraphrasing here) "Didn't paint or care about painting while on Zoloft. Wellbutrin has been much better for my creative output (and no sex side effects.)"
So that's another anecdote for you. Good luck, anonymous!
posted by pointystick at 10:09 AM on December 2, 2008

When I was on Zoloft, I noticed that there was a definite language block. Meaning I would often have to pause for a moment before finding the right word while speaking and "lost access" to a lot of my later learned, more complex vocabulary. Don't have the same problem with Wellbutrin.
posted by blueskiesinside at 10:24 AM on December 2, 2008

Although its not directly related to zoloft I can say that on the magical trip through SSRIs I took in my teens and early twenties (prozac, serzone, cymbalta, abilify, etc.) my creativity went to zero. Prior to them I created quite a bit, wrote tons and always had interesting ideas but I've never felt quite the same even though I've been off of everything for over 2 years. My partner says that my personality is like night and day off the meds though since she knew me before I stopped. Meds also turned me into a robot. Instead of feeling depressed I just felt nothing. No ups, no downs, no middle. Just void. While I think meds can be helpful I always caution people to understand what will really happen when you take them and the true therapeutic goals of putting you on them (to not be depressed... not to be happy or feel good. thats a critical difference).
posted by zennoshinjou at 10:37 AM on December 2, 2008

This is a common side effect of SSRIs, it seems. I'm no p-sychiatrist or nothin, but it seems to me that for many many people, the creative drive is linked to the brain's distribution of those special chemicals that work like Scooby Snacks -- serotonin, dopamine, etc.

Feel free, by the way, to say "Uh Spatch, that's not exactly how it works" if any of this is inaccurate, but this is what I've been able to piece together through personal experiences with SSRIs (Zoloft, in this case), the experience of my friends, and the non-Wikipedia references I've read. Everybody's got their own levels of imbalance, everybody's wired differently, so keep that in mind.

In the case of SSRIs, the Reuptake Inhibitor part seeks to correct one kind of chemical imbalance in your brain where your greedy presynaptic cells are soaking up too much of the serotonin that your brain naturally produces. Your needy postsynaptic receptors, which should be getting that serotonin, get all upset and then you start doing stuff, consciously or subconsciously, to try and get the brain to make more.

So here, then, is a potential spark for the creative drive. Your postsynaptic receptors say "Hey. You gotta do something to FEED ME." So your mind starts churning and you find yourself making creative connections, coming up with ideas, acting on them, and the chemical dispenser in your brain says "Yay! You're using the creative side of me! Have some delicious serotonin!" Om nom nom go the receptors and you're at peace for a while... or the receptors get more serotonin than necessary, and you have one hell of a party going on in your head. That's where the manic kicks in.

I'm not saying this is the sole reason behind a creative drive, because everybody's wired and motivated differently, but I sure as hell feel wonderful when I'm able to have an outlet for my creativity. It doesn't matter how I arrived at the outlet, but I'm just pleased as punch when I'm working on stuff and sharing it with others. Sometimes it doesn't even feel like a matter of pride, more like a matter of "I'm doing things!" Anyway.

When the SSRI kicks in, you start getting enough serotonin to satisfy the postsynaptic receptors. They stop crying out in need, and you're not subconsciously running routines in your brain to get more. The brain gets a bit blasé (for lack of better word) about things that formerly used to excite you. When I got put on SSRIs, that's what happened. TV was perfectly fine by me and I didn't even feel compelled to write about it afterwards. Things just happened around me. I went from being an active participant to a passive observer. Other SSRI users (especially, I found, those on Paxil) described a similar effect, but used more terms like "zombie" than anything else. That's kinda scary.

(That's one of the reasons why there are those sexual side effects with SSRIs. Sex is one of those things that makes the brain release lots of good time chemicals, and someone with a serotonin deficiency is going to really enjoy sexual stimulation, just like someone who's really hungry discovers that the stuff they eventually get to eat is the most delicious stuff ever. But when you've got enough serotonin, the brain goes "Ho hum, this is kind of fun, sure, but it's just not doing much for me.")

So there's the crux of the problem, if this indeed is the way it's affecting you: Do you enjoy the equilibrium, or do you want that imbalance again so that your brain gets you into the swingin' creative groove? Or is there a way to keep equilibrium and that groove? The only person who's going to help you answer that, however, is your pill doc. They've got the knowledge and certification to assess your behavior, the effects of your drugs, and suggest another tack to take if you're sure things aren't Working as they should.

In my case it turned out that serotonin wasn't the chemical my brain was up in arms about and once I was put on a different reuptake inhibitor, things got better without sacrificing the creative drive. Or, at least, my receptors weren't satiated enough to not want to spark creativity again. The brain is a crazy organ on its own; having to balance out chemicals is an odd, annoying, delicate and frequently frustrating game full of trial-and-error. Talk to your pill doc, and good luck to you.
posted by Spatch at 10:51 AM on December 2, 2008

Not specifically Zoloft, but there's no question that for me anti-depressants seriously curtailed my artistic impulses.

I've always attributed it to the fact that my life was suddenly a lot less dramatic. I no longer had a desperate need to share my ineffable mortal trials with the rest of the world.

I miss it sometimes, but not enough to go back to that place in my life. I've found new sources of creativity, and while I don't have the burning urgency of angst, I still find the act of creating very fulfilling.
posted by tkolar at 11:26 AM on December 2, 2008

Oh, and specifically on linguistic skills: I've had friends who felt verbally sluggish on various anti-depressants, but I've never experienced it myself. Pun fights are just as prolonged and vicious as ever.
posted by tkolar at 12:57 PM on December 2, 2008

YMMV. YMMV. YMMV. YMMV. YMMV. Also, YMMV.

Be careful of selection bias. You're mostly going to hear from people who have felt dulled, or know others who have felt dulled, while on Zoloft.

Blunting of emotional affect is not uncommonly reported by users of all selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants, especially after long-term use. Heightened levels of serotonin might have effects on the roles of norepinephrine and dopamine in the brain.

Many users find that adding bupropion (Wellbutrin, Zyban), which is a norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitor, gives a major improvement in their quality of life on SSRIs. This has become a standard method for enhancing antidepressant treatment.

Clinically depressed people know that emotional expression and creativity can be stripped or useless during bad depressive episodes. The devil you know ain't necessarily better than the devil you don't if your brain is destroying your life.

If you try one drug and don't like its effects on your mind or body, consider trying a different one or augmenting the first with bupropion. 40-75% of people who try any given antidepressant get little or no relief or dislike the side effects, physical or emotional, and decide to stop it or try a different one.

Don't disregard cognitive behavioral therapy as an alternative or enhancement to a medication regimen. Its results can be as good as or better than those of medications in mild to moderate depression. The same goes for a daylight exercise regimen. In moderate to severe depression, CBT, sunlight exposure, and exercise can offer quality-of-life boosts if added to a medication regimen. Good luck.
posted by jeeves at 1:46 PM on December 2, 2008

I also wonder if some people with depression get what amounts to a rebound mania- they aren't bipolar, but that when they have a good day, it feels so good that all that stuff that's been hiding behind the depression comes out and a sufferer feel creative. So when the depression is treated, the rebound "mania" doesn't happen.
posted by gjc at 7:32 PM on December 2, 2008

Chiming in because I think jeeves has a really good point about selection bias = SSRIs + Internet. I take Zoloft and while it changes how I process my creativity, it also allows me to feel more productive -- like I can drive the bus, instead of being dragged around by it or waiting to be dragged around by it.

In the end, it's all about finding what works for you, in a field where trying things out is often the only way to do that. Nthing emphatically that as frustrating as it is, don't cold turkey or tinker with your meds on your own.
posted by gnomeloaf at 6:17 AM on December 3, 2008