I wanted to share this because a few months ago I genuinely thought I’d never feel normal again.
Before sertraline my anxiety was intense. Constant rumination, obsessive guilt, scrupulosity, reassurance seeking, overthinking everything, waking up anxious, feeling sick in my stomach, constantly questioning myself morally and feeling like I had done something terrible. My brain just never switched off.
I started sertraline around 6 months ago. Started at 25 mg, then 50 mg. I stayed on 50 for about 6 months and it definitely helped a lot. Life became manageable again and I stopped spiralling as badly, but deep down I still felt like I wasn’t 100%. I still had background anxiety and that constant “on edge” feeling.
If you’re at that stage where you’re thinking:
“I’m better… but I still feel like I could be better”
don’t be afraid to talk to your doctor about increasing.
I slowly worked up to 75 mg and then finally moved to 100 mg on March 14th.
The adjustment phases were messy at times. Some anxiety spikes, feeling weirdly on edge, ups and downs, wondering if it would ever fully settle.
But it’s now May 6th, around 7 and a half weeks on 100 mg, and honestly I feel really, really good. My anxiety is basically gone most days. Not numb. Not fake happy. Just calm and normal again. My mind feels quiet. The thoughts still occasionally pop up, but they don’t grip me anymore and I move on quickly.
I also don’t really have side effects anymore. My body seems fully adjusted now.
I know when I was struggling I searched Reddit constantly looking for positive stories, so I wanted to post one.
For me personally, things absolutely continued improving after weeks 4 to 6 on 100 mg. I genuinely feel like myself again.
29M for context.