How do SSRI withdrawals cause ‘brain zaps’?

Question

It feels similar to being electrocuted or having little lighting in your brain, i’m just curious as to what’s actually happening?

In: 188

Answer 1

Multitude of reasons could apply here. We don’t actually know how SSRI’s work and which systems of the nervous system are actually affected. What I can tell you is that you definitely didn’t “feel” your brain. Your brain doesn’t have sensory or pain receptors, so what you felt was more likely the meninges or a related area. This could theoretically be related to vasoconstriction, like a lot of sensations surrounding the brain. But as I said, the pathways of how SSRI’s actually work are largely unexplored.