Sexual side effects while taking antidepressants are a common, but rarely talked about issue. Many women (and men) are willing to trade sexual satisfaction for the everyday comfort and happiness that comes with taking these medications, but one blogger is fighting back against sexual resignation.
Sex-positive blogger Crista Anne, who was first featured in Philadelphia's City Paper, has taken her struggle to orgasm while taking antidepressants public with "Orgasm Quest." The project documents her determination to regain the ability to climax while battling depression with medication.
Crista has suffered from depression, which affects an estimated 19 million people, her entire life. She found at an early age that masturbation helped ward off her symptoms.
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"I came out of the womb depressed, as most of the people in my family have," she told us. "Looking back, I cannot think of a time that I didn't use masturbation as a tool to fight my depression or anxiety."
The blogger, who previously worked in the sexuality field for 14 years, has spoken to countless women who are fighting the same sexual problem.
"I've been working in the sexuality field for 14 years, many of those were spent working in sex toy boutiques. Daily I was speaking to women who were struggling with loss of libido or anorgasmia from their medications," she revealed. "Empathy went a long way in making them feel more comfortable... Everyday women would tell me how they had no idea this would happen, how they felt broken. Validating their feelings, giving them a safe space to share seemed to help them a great deal."
Her public Orgasm Quest has only increased the number of women who have reached out to her. She wants these women to know that they are not alone and is more than happy to share their stories alongside her own.
She said, "The shame around loss of libido and sex drive doesn't need to exist, I'm happy to step out in the hopes others will too."
Crista admits that since starting up on antidepressants again, her mental health state has never been better. Her sex life, however, is not yet where she wants it to be.
"I'm better than I've ever been. I actually enjoy being alive, which is a feeling that I didn't know was possible," she said. "As far as my orgasms are concerned, within my partnered sex life I am starting to have gentle orgasms, like waves. Very different from the powerful "universe creating" orgasms I had before, but it is a start."
Crista is documenting her journey on Twitter using the hashtag #OrgasmQuest.