After a woman’s emotional testimony about SSRIs went viral, we looked into what is known and unknown about “post-SSRI sexual dysfunction.” It’s not a formal diagnosis and research is sparse.

Some patients report that sexual side effects persist or worsen after they stop treatment — a condition that has been dubbed “post-SSRI sexual dysfunction” or PSSD. It’s called post-SSRI sexual dysfunction, Lauren Friedman told people gathered at a Washington, D.C., hotel for the Make America Healthy Again Institute’s Mental Health and Overmedicalization Summit. The term “post-SSRI sexual dysfunction,” or PSSD, emerged in online chat groups in the early 2000s and first appeared in scientific literature in 2006. Some researchers have linked other classes of antidepressants known to cause sexual side effects — SNRIs (serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors) and TCAs (tricyclic antidepressants) — to the condition. “In some cases, serotonin reuptake inhibitor–induced sexual dysfunction may persist after the agent is discontinued.”