She asked ... So I told her

Somebody on a forum asked me this question:

Hey, could you go ahead and give me a summary of your experience with Paxil? I want to hear everything! Thanks. :)

So this is the response that I sent back:

I originally was put on Paxil for stress. My mother is a prescription drug addict and she has been on antidepressants and anti-anxiety meds for as long as I can remember. She used to tell us all of the time that depression ran in our family and that we were all destined to need meds someday. She was actually happy when I went on Paxil, which I now find rather disturbing.

The Paxil slowly changed me from a kind, caring, intelligent person into a complete monster and I couldn't even see it. I was cruel to people. I talked over people. My ego was huge and I always had to be right about everything. I had no impulse control and had to be the center of attention. I would openly flirt with just about any man in sight, often right in front of my husband. I had a serious case of the "don't give a damns". That is one of the major side effects of these types of meds. You aren't really depressed any more, but you sure are not happy either. You pretty much don't feel anything at all. My husband seriously thought about divorcing me and at the time I was so numb on the meds that I wouldn't have even cared.

It took something really tragic happening for me to see how I was acting and that I wasn't really myself. I searched "Paxil side effects" on Google and found www.paxilprogress.org That forum literally saved my life. It took me about nine months to taper off of the Paxil and I have been med free since August 25, 2007. Withdrawal was hell, not going to lie about that. SSRIs make some serious changes to how the brain and body function and it takes time to get back to normal.

What were you prescribed the Paxil for, if you don't mind me asking?