ANTIDEPRESSANTS CAN INCREASE DEPRESSION IMPULSIVITY AND SUICIDE RISK BY DECREASING DOPAMINE
Antidepressant medications which increase serotonin neurotransmitter levels can depress dopamine levels. Decreasing dopamine level can increase depression, impulsivity and suicide risk in depressed patients, who were previously dopamine deficient.
Many depressed patients do not improve with Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) Antidepressants, such as Prozac, Paxil or Zoloft. Prozac and Paxil only increase serotonin and norepinephrine activity. When serotonin is increased above normal levels with medication, the brain downregulates dopamine production. Dopamine downregulation explains why some patients become suicidal on
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