Why cant I cry?

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Is it the effect of antipsychotics that I cant cry? Used to be able to cry at the drop of a hat when I wasnt on them. But the weird thing is I can cry when I watch sad movies. Just not when I think of something sad. Its very frustraiting.

I usually only cry when I become frustrated. And even that type of crying has pretty much gone away. It would probably take a monumental personal catastrophe to make me cry now.

Did crying comfort you?

Oh yes it was nice to cry. Even when I become sad, overwhelmed and frustraited I cant cry. Only when I watch sad films for some reason. I dont get it.

It could absolutely be a side effect of the antipsychotics.

For me, some antidepressants cause me to stop crying. Also the antipsychotic aripiprazole (it's the only antipsychotic I've been on, so I can't comment on others) caused me to stop crying.

Fortunately, I was only on it for a bit due to other bad side effects, and don't have a psychotic illness, just had an unexplained psychotic episode.

Is this specific side effect bothering you a lot? If so, I'd suggest bringing it up to whoever manages your care, and try to stress how important crying is for you. They may be able to sort out a solution like lowering your dose.

Edit: Just adding that it's really important your frustration doesn't cause you to do anything drastic, like discontinuing your meds without medical supervision. This could cause very bad consequences.

Sometimes I can't cry, but when I have a person to cry to I do. Or, if I burst from frustration.

Some antipsychotics have antidepressant effects & being less depressed tends to make people cry less. I started crying a lot less after I got on psych meds & became less depressed.