Medications to blunt or remove emotion

Post Reply New Topic

There are medications to improve and regulate mood, lower blood pressure, increase or decrease libido, lower cholesterol, and many other observable effects.

Are there any medications with the side-effect of dulling or preventing emotional physiological responses at all? There must be. At least prevent them without rendering someone a zombie that can't think.

Don't try fool around with side effects, of the ones I know of that occasionally cause blunted affect: mood stabalizers and some anti psychotics - there were more prominant side effects like weight gain.


I currently have blunted affect and have had it for several weeks now, I get the sense you want this to happen to you - perhaps because you're pretty depressed and are sick of emotions - well a lot of people are gonna tell you that getting rid of your emotions isn't the way to go and it's better to tackle your problems then just wipe away your affect but...

well, I've had this thing for awhile now and it really is better then being depressed. It's also incredibly dull and if I had a soul it would be dying, if you'll excuse the melodrama.

The reason I have blunted affect is not yet clear.

Your first side effect, like Phonic said, will be boredom. A boredom that will make you feel like digging your nails into your skin and screaming in rage for SOMETHING to be interesting again.(forgive second melodrama of the thread lol...)
You can still feel rage, Phonic correct me if I'm wrong and we don't feel the exact same thing but, you don't want that kind of boredom....

When I took Lexapro (an anti-depressent) I felt "numb", no real sorrow, but no happiness either. I also had a hard time sleeping and several other of the side-effects. In the end, it wasn't much better than feeling depressed, and it wasn't getting anything resolved, so I got off the medication.

Yeah they very much can have the blunted, no emotion affect on you. But you have to weigh out the pros and cons, do you want all the sanity at what cost? The decision for meds should be taken pretty carefully and it takes a lot to get to the right dosage with the right psych.

Right now Im on abilify and I used to be on it before, it did have that affect on me. Me and my doc were slowly deciding to go on it again to see if its of good use.

SSRI's do that to some people. And neuroleptics are really good at inducing it, but those will also mess up your ability to think.

The thing is, people usually don't find emotional numbness to be a desirable state. Some people even desire a painful state rather than numbness (I felt that way on SSRI's).

There's also some research that says that when people's emotions are cut off from the thinking part of their brain, they lose the ability to make decisions (even simple ones, like what to have for lunch).

There's some 'reviews' of how neuroleptics felt to people at --> http://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.c ... C1=-1&Str=

No rage, no happiness, no sadness. Just needed clarity. Emotions too often interfere with whatever I'm doing. I'm trying to improve and get things done. It is the problem I'm trying to solve. Chemical management of emotions in order to improve functioning is something that I need, and want. Taking measures to remove an impediment to well-being isn't running from the problem. It's dealing with it head on.

I can't tolerate any prescription meds so I've had to find alternative methods to cope. If you really want life-long relief that you can access at any time and are willing to invest a few years practicing, I highly recommend prayer, yoga and/or tai chi. A healthy diet can also make a difference.

I tend to be impatient so I had to try all the drugs first. I really wish I hadn't. A lot of years were wasted unnecessarily, and what damage will I find out about later? Yoga isn't a magic bullet, more like a slow boat, but you're more likely to get there safely.

Yes; they are called mood stabilizers and used for bipolar disorder.

There are also beta blockers, which are usually used for high blood pressure but also blunt the physical effects of anxiety--your heart won't pound as much, for example.

Some antidepressants have the effect of blunting both highs and lows, but this is usually considered an undesirable effect and a reason to switch medications. It may be useful for some people.

If you're having problems with extreme emotions, the best approach may be cognitive therapy. That's because your thoughts and your emotions are intertwined, with each affecting the other. If you can affect your thoughts, you can affect your emotions. I would also suggest relaxation training, which you can teach yourself--your library should have some books; find the ones without lots of religion attached, unless you happen to be interested in the religion in question and don't mind using it to relax.

You could of course try a combination of both, and that is the option I favor. If you are truly being overwhelmed by your emotions to the point that cognitive therapy is difficult, then you may try asking a psychiatrist to prescribe some sort of mood stabilizer or antidepressant temporarily, while you get a handle on the techniques you can learn in CBT to keep a hold on your emotions. You should mention to the counselor you see that you are autistic and that this affects your emotions; make sure the counselor is willing to educate him/herself about overload, meltdown, shutdown, and burnout.

When I was about eighteen I decided to try to get rid of my emotions; and it worked, but only for a while. The trouble with trying not to feel emotions was that instead of meltdowns I just went into shutdown and lost some of my ability to make decisions for myself. That's a problem. You need your emotions--but you should learn about how they affect you and how to use them, rather than being overwhelmed. IMO, that is probably your best bet for a therapy goal: Learn to use your emotions to your benefit, to do what needs to be done without being hampered by your emotions, and to express them in a healthy manner.

Good luck; I know what it can be like to feel like your emotions are controlling you. It's not fun. BTW: If you are still a teenager, you can hold out hope that once you enter your mid-twenties or so, you will probably be on more of an even keel. I don't know what it is about getting older--maybe that last bit of brain development or more even hormone levels--but it seems to be a bit easier once you're out of the teen years.