Tell Me about Anti-Depressants and Lucids

There has to be more than one person on this forum taking antidepressants other than me. My question is: Do you find that anti-depressants prohibit or inhibit your lucid dreams?

For me I find it terribly prohibits my lucid dreams. The medication I'm taking is supposed to give you energy and makes you feel like you have had 12 cups of coffee before you go to sleep. So my sleep is usually very light which is why I usually don't have many vivid dreams. :(

Anyone on antidepressants find a solution to this? Or do you find it creates more vivid experiences?

Did you have pretty good dream vividness before and it's a differance you're noticing or is it that you're not improving the way you think you should be?

I was interested and did a little Googling and it seems SSRI's suppress dream recall but increase dream intensity. How's your recall? I guess it depends a lot on the person and which drugs you're on though... I haven't had personal experience but I have wondered if I should.

I hope it's only a dry spell for you :)

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Originally Posted by FancyRat

Did you have pretty good dream vividness before and it's a differance you're noticing or is it that you're not improving the way you think you should be?

I was interested and did a little Googling and it seems SSRI's suppress dream recall but increase dream intensity. How's your recall? I guess it depends a lot on the person and which drugs you're on though... I haven't had personal experience but I have wondered if I should.

I hope it's only a dry spell for you :)

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My recall is pretty good actually. The vividness of my dreams however has gone down quite a bit. I'm just thinking it could be placebo though. I've talked to alot of people who say the SSRIs they are on are prohibiting their imagination and creativity.

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Originally Posted by Quantiq

I've talked to alot of people who say the SSRIs they are on are prohibiting their imagination and creativity.

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I've heard that too and that's why I'm kind of scared of them. Still, that's really a depression symptom in itself, drained of imagination and creativity. I know I have my best, most vibrant dreams when I'm full of life and hope. When I feel like shit, even if I LD, it feels pointless and dreary...

life is meaningless. anti depressants are bad for dreams. They make you like a zombie.

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Originally Posted by saltyseedog

life is meaningless. anti depressants are bad for dreams. They make you like a zombie.

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Someone need a hug? :therethere:

Certain antidepressants or SSRIs can suppress REM sleep. I took prozac a few years back and noticed my accidental SP occurences drop off completely; since then I haven't had one accidental episode. I've found WILDing is a bit more difficult too, and it takes me longer to reach SP than if I were to try before taking the prozac. Whether it was the antidepressants or just me, I'm unsure, but I'm placing my bet on the prozac.

As for lucidity or awareness in general, I don't see why it would have a detrimental effect, but the frequency may be reduced a bit since you're not getting quite as much REM (again, depending on which medication you're taking).

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Originally Posted by FancyRat

Someone need a hug? :therethere:

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I always need a hug lol

:hug:

I started using Zoloft last month. This thread is very relevant to my interests.

One of my issues that lead to Zoloft was that I wasn't sleeping due to anxiety and night-time panic attacks. I've been sleeping way better recently. I'm not sure if my dream recall has been affected. The only reason I was so able to remember my dreams before was because I wasn't really sleeping well anyway and they were often so vividly disturbing that I woke immediately afterward.

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Originally Posted by babylemonade

I started using Zoloft last month. This thread is very relevant to my interests.

One of my issues that lead to Zoloft was that I wasn't sleeping due to anxiety and night-time panic attacks. I've been sleeping way better recently. I'm not sure if my dream recall has been affected. The only reason I was so able to remember my dreams before was because I wasn't really sleeping well anyway and they were often so vividly disturbing that I woke immediately afterward.

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Yeah, Zoloft will probably reduce your dream vividness. I'm guessing since most SSRI's are quite similar, that it will possibly have the same effects...

While my dream vividness has dulled somewhat, my general dream recall seems to have improved a lot. Win some, lose some I guess.

I came back to this thread to say that after a few months on an anti-depressant, my dreams have been getting more vivid. This makes me happy.

Amitriptyline makes my dreams more vivid. It's an anti-depressant most commonly used to treat high anxiety.

Nortripyline, which is prescribed for insomnia often speeds a person into REM sleep. It has helped my Lucid dreaming.