In this episode, Simone and Malcolm Collins dive deep into the controversial topic of SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) and their impact on fertility, sexual development, and mental health—especially among left-leaning youth. Drawing from recent studies, personal anecdotes, and a New York Times Magazine article, they explore how SSRIs may be contributing to declining birth rates, lasting sexual side effects, and shifting cultural attitudes toward relationships and intimacy. The discussion covers: * The growing criticism and negative sentiment around SSRIs on social media * Case studies of individuals experiencing long-term sexual dysfunction after SSRI use * The lack of transparency from medical professionals about potential side effects, especially for teens * The intersection of mental health, political affiliation, and prescription trends * Broader societal factors, including endocrine disruptors and cultural shifts, that may be affecting fertility and sexuality This is once again a Simone-outlined episode, so the outline is below, including links, and you’ll find the transcript after it. Thanks so much for your support! Episode Outline: Leftists Are Being Sterilized by SSRIs * We’ve touched on the fact that fertility rates among people on the left and the right are diverging * We’ve made it clear much of the issue is cultural * We’ve even suggested that it’s due to infectious diseases and parasites * But it’s more than that * It may be that largely left-leaning young people are throwing off their sexual development by taking SSRIs and the NY Times is trying to raise awareness about the issue * According to a recent article, “Depending on the symptom, drug and duration of use, between 30 and 80 percent of adults taking S.S.R.I.s live to varying degrees with diminished desire, sensation and function, according to a 2019 study in The Journal of Clinical Medicine. “ * But the problem may be worse when teens are taking these medications, as they’re in the middle of sexual development * So let’s dive in and see what’s going on Case Studies: This is all inspired by an NY Times Magazine article in which Daniel Bergner interviewed more than 20 people with PSSD (post SSRI sexual dysfunction) More Teens Are Taking Antidepressants. It Could Disrupt Their Sex Lives for Years. Research on adults who take S.S.R.I.s shows they tamp down sexual desire. Why aren’t we studying what that could mean for adolescents who take them? Archived Article: https://archive.is/NdBDe#selection-1387.0-1387.900 Some of Bergner’s opening case studies: * “Marie began taking fluoxetine, the generic form of Prozac, when she was 15. The drug — an S.S.R.I., a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor — was part of her treatment in an outpatient program for an eating disorder. It took its toll on her sexuality. “I was in touch with initial sparks of sexual energy relatively young,” she said, remembering crushes as far back as the age of 6 or 7. Shortly before starting on the drug, she was dazzled, from a distance, by a blue-eyed hockey player at school, tall and funny and charismatic. She recalled the fluster and fantasies he stirred. But on the medication, she felt the infatuation vanish swiftly. * “And then,” Marie said, “I realized, Oh, I’m not developing new crushes.” She had no clue that the drug might be the cause: “I wasn’t informed about sexual side effects.” * Even as the worst of the eating disorder abated, psychiatrists and family doctors told Marie and her parents that she should stay on an antidepressant. She complied, while trying and failing to escape the sexual side effects. She traded fluoxetine for other antidepressants, including Wellbutrin, a different class of antidepressant, which is sometimes prescribed to combat low libido. She’s 38 now and has been off psychiatric medication for six years. But sexual desire remains absent. “For me it’s just an empty dark space,” she said. “There’s nothing there.” * One of the most haunting accounts I heard of PSSD came from a parent. Ruth told me that a couple of decades ago her daughter was prescribed Zoloft, an S.S.R.I., at 11 by a psychiatrist, after a humiliating incident at school “left her feeling out of sorts and anxious.” About the prescription, Ruth said, “I guess I thought that was a good thing.” She spoke of her naïveté at the time and “blind trust” in psychiatry. Her daughter wound up staying on the drug for a decade, until 2011. Only over the past few years has Ruth learned, from her daughter, about the sexual side effects she still lives with and about her grief. “Her erogenous zones don’t work,” Ruth said. “It makes me deeply sad, because our sexuality, the pleasure we get from our bodies and our intimacy with another person, it’s such a beautiful experience; it helps us to feel not alone.” Thinking back, Ruth said, “I have huge, terrible regret” about allowing her child to be medicated. “I can’t believe I so easily said yes.” The Rise of PSSD * More professi
