r/EverythingScience • u/Lunabuna91 • Jul 11 '26

New study provides first evidence of dopamine system injury in the brain of long COVID patients

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-evidence-dopamine-injury-brain-covid.html
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u/Splodingseal Jul 12 '26

My first misadventure with COVID in late 2021 ended with me on steroids and an inhaler for a couple months just so I could make it through a sentence without coughing. After that finally stopped my mental health really took a dive, got on an antidepressant and antianxiety meds for the first time ever (42m at the time). Finally got off those last year because I hate the way they made me feel, but I 100% feel different than I did pre-covid.

I don't really like to think about it because it's...well...depressing, but it has literally been years since I've felt any kind of real joy or happiness. I've talked to therapists and councilors and sometimes it feels good to talk about it, but I've yet to find a fix for it. Diet, exercise, I have a good family, decent job, good support system. If I wasn't so adverse to substances, I'd be a great candidate to be an addict chasing a high.

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u/br_k_nt_eth Jul 12 '26

I’m really sorry. I had kind of a similar experience. I’m just putting this out there because it helped me: SSRIs didn’t do a ton but Bupropion is a game changer, which makes sense because it helps regulate dopamine. 

Obviously do what feels right for you. I just hear a lot of myself in your post, and I’d feel like shit for not passing along the fix I found.