#7: Emotional Sensitivity
March 21st, 2001. (Basic Facts – continued)
There’s not much that can be done about this, and I’m not sure if anything should be done. A heightened emotional sensitivity is a sign that you’re beginning to have real feelings again, the kind of feelings that Paxil and other SSRIs have a tendency to numb out. What this means for someone withdrawing from paroxetine is that you’re going to feel like crying a lot. Unresolved feelings of any kind that happen to pop into your head will have you bawling and crying and feeling them deeper than you’ve ever felt them before. My advice is to go with it. Don’t hold it back. This may be difficult, especially for men, but falling into the depths of these feelings and coming out the other end is probably the healthiest thing you could do. More the better if you have someone you can turn to and not have to hide these feelings from while they’re happening.
And it doesn’t mean you’re depressed or having some kind of relapse. It’s just the way it goes. It all balances out in the end.
P.S. (June 9, 2010): I was emotionally messed up while I was on Paxil, during my withdrawal, and even more messed up for a couple years afterwards. I had unrealistic ideas of what it meant to be in an intimate relationship (to have a girlfriend), and let me tell you, I was looking for love in all the wrong places. I got tangled up with one particular individual I should have never said hello to, and I spent years of my life obsessing over her. You want to talk about regret? I know all about it. I was nuts. Then add to the mix the crazy emotional sensitivity that kicks in after Paxil withdrawal — and stays around for a long time — I’m surprised I didn’t jump off a bridge in despair over that silly girl. God, I was dumb. Painfully, miserably dumb. My advice: If you find your self-esteem totally wrapped up in the whims of another person who probably doesn’t think much of you unless you’re saying something nice about them, end it now. Politely say goodbye and learn how to run like Forrest Gump; that is, focus on something else. Obsess about something else if you have to, just as long as it’s a thing, not a person. Trust me on this, and do it now.