PSSD support groups: where to find others

Want to talk to people who already understand? You can find others with post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD) in small WhatsApp groups, in the PSSD Network’s forums and Zoom calls, and on Reddit’s r/PSSD. Many people say talking to someone who has it too is the first time they felt understood.

The UK leaflet for Cipralex (escitalopram) says sexual problems have, in some cases, “continued after stopping treatment”. In a peer group, nobody needs that line explained.

So which place suits you, and how do you get the most out of it?

Where can I talk to other people with PSSD?

There are three main places, and they suit different moods.

• Small private groups: our WhatsApp groups are four regional groups for PSSD, PFS and PAS, sorted by country and language. They’re quiet, and an admin approves every member.
• Weekly calls and chat groups: the PSSD Network, a patient-led group, runs a weekly Zoom call where people with PSSD share stories and coping strategies, plus its own WhatsApp groups.
• A big open forum: r/PSSD on Reddit. The PSSD Network calls it the largest and most active PSSD forum, with over 20,000 members.

Start with one. You can read for weeks before you post anything.

How do I join the SIDEfxHUB WhatsApp groups?

You fill in our registry form, open the link in the email it sends, and ask to join the group for your country. An admin approves requests by hand, usually within a day.

No diagnosis is needed. A made-up name is fine. The groups cover the UK and Ireland, Scandinavia, Benelux, France and Italy, and the US and Canada. If a request is declined, it’s almost always about time zone or language. Email contact@sidefxhub.com and we’ll help you find the right place.

We stopped printing invite links on public pages because search engines keep copies. Running access through the registry keeps the groups to people who are who they say they are. Read how the groups work.

How do I use a forum or group well?

Pick the place by what you need that day. A big forum is good for searching: someone has probably asked your question before. A small group is better when you want to be heard by people who will still be there next week.

Some people find large forums heavy going on a bad day. Long threads about the worst cases can feel like a prediction. They aren’t. Each post is one person’s experience, and nobody yet knows who will be affected, or whether it will ease.

A short break from reading is fine. So is muting a group for a while.

PSSD is more than sexual problems. The 2022 diagnostic criteria describe a lasting change in genital sensation, often numbness, and also list emotional numbing, problems with cognition and changes in other senses. Those are hard things to explain to friends, which is why a group of people who already know can help.

Trust the experience, and check the advice. People in groups know what PSSD feels like better than most doctors. They don’t know your body, your history or your medicines.

Treat any tip about supplements, other drugs or stopping and restarting as a question for your GP, and don’t treat it as a plan. Ask where a claim comes from. A real study has a name and a link.

Rosie is president of the PSSD Network and has lived with PSSD herself. In this extract from her interview she describes what living with it is like. Watch it if you’re wondering whether anyone else feels the way you do.

Play video: Interview with Rosie, PSSD Network President

What can I do besides joining a group?

These medicines help many people. If you have side effects, that’s a decision for you and your prescriber. Don’t stop suddenly.

Groups help most alongside a GP who knows what’s going on. Bring a short record: the medicine, dose and dates, for example “Sertraline 50 mg from January 2023, last tablet March 2024”, and what changed, in your own words.

If you ever feel you can’t go on, call Samaritans on 116 123 in the UK, free, day or night. A group can listen, but it can’t keep you safe in a crisis.

Report it: it helps everyone

A doctor’s note helps you. A report to the medicines regulator helps everyone else: it is how patterns get noticed.

• No proof needed. A suspicion is enough, even years after stopping.
• Where: the Yellow Card scheme in the UK, MedWatch in the US. Our Yellow Card guide for PSSD shows each step.
• Use the right words. If symptoms continued after stopping, write Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (MedDRA 10086208).

Our reporting guide walks you through it

What else do people ask?

Do I need a diagnosis to join a PSSD group? No. Many people join while they’re still working out what happened to them. If you’re not sure yet, our page on when it counts as PSSD can help.

Is there support for partners and family? Partners often feel shut out too. Our article on social isolation after a PSSD crash has ideas for what to tell the people close to you. Sharing our PSSD page can save you explaining it all yourself.

Are there groups for PFS and PAS too? Yes. Our WhatsApp groups cover PSSD, PFS and PAS together. For finasteride, see where to find peer support for PFS.

Pick one group this week and read for a while. When you’re ready, say hello.

Sources

1. Healy D, Bahrick A, Bak M and colleagues. Diagnostic criteria for enduring sexual dysfunction after treatment with antidepressants, finasteride and isotretinoin. Int J Risk Saf Med 2022;33(1):65-76. Proposed criteria developed through expert agreement. Section 3: necessary criterion, “An enduring change in somatic (tactile) or erogenous (sexual) genital sensation after treatment stops”; ancillary non-sexual symptoms include “emotional numbing”, “other sensory problems” and “cognitive impairment”.
2. Lundbeck Limited. Cipralex (escitalopram) patient information leaflet, electronic Medicines Compendium (UK). Section 2: sexual problems “have continued after stopping treatment” in some cases.
3. PSSD Network. Join our community and Support. Describes r/PSSD as “the largest and most active forum” for PSSD “with over 20,000 members” (the network’s own figure), a weekly Zoom group and WhatsApp groups.
4. SIDEfxHUB. WhatsApp groups: four regional groups, access through the registry, admin approval.
5. Moral Medicine, Interview with PSSD Network President Rosie, 9 July 2024.
6. GOV.UK. Report a problem with a medicine or medical device.
7. Samaritans, 116 123 (UK and Ireland).

Sources checked on 22 October 2026. AI-assisted writing and review, not clinical review.