[Rainbow123]

Have any of you experienced the lack of ability to laugh and feel any emotions whatsoever? I noticed I began to feel flat and my thoughts were weird after taking Wellbutrin so I took myself off of that but the flatness remained. Now I'm on Lamictal and I'm less depressed but still am so flat I have to force myself to talk. I heard Abilify can help with this. Do you think Abilify will help me feel less flat? The last time I felt like this it took six months to go away. Have any of you ever felt flat and emotionless like this before and what did you do?

Originally Posted by Rainbow123

Have any of you experienced the lack of ability to laugh and feel any emotions whatsoever? I noticed I began to feel flat and my thoughts were weird after taking Wellbutrin so I took myself off of that but the flatness remained. Now I'm on Lamictal and I'm less depressed but still am so flat I have to force myself to talk. I heard Abilify can help with this. Do you think Abilify will help me feel less flat? The last time I felt like this it took six months to go away. Have any of you ever felt flat and emotionless like this before and what did you do?

Abilify is an interesting drug. I take 30mg and I feel emotionless at times. you described Wellbutrin as making you feel that way. Drugs.com | Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side Effects is a good site for finding out side effects on various medications. I hope Lamictal works for you. I think everyone reacts so differently to these drugs that it's hard to say what works and what doesn't, at least for me anyway.
warm thoughts

[a bland]

im a very flat person but its just how my mother raised me. in my family we were not allow to show much emotion. my mom and dad thought it was a sign of weakness and practically beat it out of me and my siblings. that is what me and my therapist are working on now. shes trying to reteach me that its ok to show emotion. naturally im a bubbly person but only on the inside. i know it probly isnt the same thing ur going through but i know how it feels.

[Mercury Man]

Yes I am experiencing the flat effect, I experience no saddness and find it very hard to cry and I don't know how strong this is with me but it might be prominent. I don't take anti depressants but instead take anti psychotic and mood stabilizer. My sexuality has also experienced a flat effect by not getting turned on to sexual stimuli. Its very disturbing I don't know what to do. I need people to get me out of these states and I don't know whom to turn to. I could request for a change of meds but I don't know how well that would go down.

[volatile]

When I was on Zyprexa I felt like that. It wasn't like a mute flat it was more like an angry kind of flat though I never expressed anger, it just felt like I was frustrated the entire time. I couldn't really express it or feel anything else. It was just strange.
They added Welbutrin and my mood became even more unstable and strange. I just stopped taking meds for awhile. Then they tried to put me on Abilify and I had a very bad muscle reaction. Haven't taken meds since. I just got sick of dealing with that game.

[Rainbow123]

Yeah, the med game is a last resort. Most people who are functioning don't need them.

[Rainbow123]

Originally Posted by Rainbow123

Yeah, the med game is a last resort. Most people who are functioning don't need them.

As of this writing I have begun to improve through the use of riboflavin and omega 3's. I refuse to use any antipsychotics as I'm not psychotic and I believe them to cause brain damage. I will reserve Lamictal for severe depression only.

[MentallyNill]

Originally Posted by Rainbow123

I refuse to use any antipsychotics as I'm not psychotic and I believe them to cause brain damage.

Your belief is correct according to Wikipedia's article on antipsychotics:

Many studies now indicate that chronic treatment with antipsychotics affects the brain at a structural level, for example increasing the volume of the basal ganglia (especially the caudate nucleus), and reducing cortical grey matter volume in different brain areas. The effects may differ for typical versus atypical antipsychotics and may interact with different stages of disorders. Death of neurons in the cerebral cortex, especially in women, has been linked to the use of both typical and atypical antipsychotics for individuals with Alzheimers.

Recent studies on macaque monkeys have found that administration of haloperidol or olanzapine for about two years led to a significant overall shrinkage in brain tissue, in both gray and white matter across several brain areas, with lower glial cell counts, due to a decrease in astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, and increased neuronal density. It has been said that these studies require serious attention and that such effects were not clearly tested for by pharmaceutical companies prior to obtaining approval for placing the drugs on the market.

[fluffybunniezz]

I got really flat and forced emotion in about eighth grade. It ain't fun, that's for sure. I'm on abilify 20mg and I'm doing better now.

[amireal92]

I know that everyone is different, But my experience with Abilify was terrifying. I was literally a zombie. I wanted to go to sleep all the time, but couldn't fall asleep. I also had a relatively similar experience to Wellbutrin, but no where near as severe. I hear that it works well for others though. (: Good Luck!