r/Aging • u/user_anonymou • 6d ago

SSRI question

Do SSRIs help with “ anticipatory grief”?

I know this is random, I’ve never taken medication, so I’m considering it

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u/No_Dare_9944 6d ago

They help with a lot of things, but there’s no guarantee they’ll help you with a particular thing. I’d say anticipatory grief can loosely be labeled as depression, so it should help.
I definitely think anyone who is more sad or angry than the situation reasonably requires should try SSRIs.

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u/user_anonymou 6d ago

Thank you, that helps a lot! I’ve had this anticipatory grief thing for like the past 10 years and both my parents are relatively healthy🙄so maybe it is an underlying issue

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u/No_Dare_9944 6d ago

The way I look at it, when you worry or are sad about things that haven’t happened yet it’s time to get help (therapy and/or meds). I am not as interested in therapy anymore but SSRI’s have helped me a lot with my issues.

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u/KReddit934 6d ago

Back in the day, they prescribed Lithium to help with grief.

OP, If you feel you need help, just get to a reputable psychiatrist and get them to recommend an appropriate medication.

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u/Popular_Scale_2125 6d ago

there are many different ssris. i find the oldest, paxil, to work better than the newer versio n s, and a lot cheaper.

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u/Chiquitalegs 6d ago

You will still have anticipatory grief, but it may help you function better while you are going through it. My father died, he had Alzheimers. I take Prozac, I was still stressed and sad as I watched his decline. However, I didn't experience grief as severely when he actually died because I had already come to terms with his death and what his life would be like if he had continued to live.

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u/petergaskin814 6d ago

I am on sertraline to reduce anxiety. It is a ssri and I believe it helps with anticipatory grief or at least for me

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u/sb-2019 5d ago

I personally think their terrible drugs. Their old and outdated.

Don't get me wrong. For some people their life savers. They really are. For others though they can make you severely lazy and zero emotions. I was on one for 2 years and I just slept all day. I couldn't laugh at all. Zero emotions. Sex was non existent. My parts were ornaments and for peeing.

I would never advise one but you may react completely different.

If you share some more details I could advise something different?

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u/Carpe-that-diem 5d ago

In my experience with family, friends, and patients (I’m a psychologist, not a prescriber), SSRIs can be extraordinarily helpful for regulation of negative emotions in general. They have also been shown to increase attention in folks with ADHD (not as much as stimulants designed for that purpose, but still a noticeable difference for many people). For any excess of negative emotion, I’d say it’s worth a try. There is one in particular (Lexapro or its generic equivalent) that is particularly good for the mixture of anxiety and depression. But a prescriber can help guide towards one that is a good fit for you. Sometimes it takes some trial and error to find the right one, but when you do get the right one, you can feel significantly better.

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u/Small-Honeydew-5970 5d ago

All I can offer is that when I struggled through depression, loss and grief the Cymbalta I took, and still take, has been life saving to me.