Women Sexual Life

Millions of people take antidepressants like Prozac each year. Most patients taking the drugs say they have diminished sex drive. There could be another side effect– a diminished ability to experience romance. Common antidepressants that affect serotonin levels in the brain also disrupt brain circuits that are involved in romance and attachment.

“When you cripple a person’s sexual desire and arousal, you’re also jeopardizing their ability to fall in love and to stay in love,” said Dr. Helen E. Fisher, an anthropologist. For 25 years, Fisher has studied the brains of people in love.

Three brain systems, all of which are interrelated, control lust, attraction and attachment. Different chemicals drive each system. Lust runs on androgens and estrogens; attachment is fueled by oxytocin and vasopressin; attraction comes from high levels of serotonin. In addition to causing your sex drive to tank, increased levels of serotonin from antidepressants can cause an imbalance among the three systems. “People should be aware that these drugs dull the emotions, including the positive ones that are central components of romantic life,” Fisher said.