Serotonin selectively influences moral judgment and behavior
(Just my personal, anecdotal experience - I have strong family history of depression and anxiety on both sides of my family and it&#x27;s something that&#x27;s afflicted me since I was a teenager.)<p>I will be extremely hesitant to take antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications ever again after my last experience with them. For me, the medications helped by tempering all of my feelings - I no longer felt sad or anxious, instead I just felt mellow and apathetic about everything. And feeling apathy is an incredibly scary thing because I also no longer derived any joy from my hobbies, from sex, from exercise, etc. I could no longer feel sad but I could no longer feel happy, either.<p>Even worse, I found myself engaging in behaviors I would never have engaged in otherwise, like compulsive lying. My moral code was compromised because I no longer felt the guilt and shame that normally inhibits unscrupulous behavior. I look back on that time now and I think about some of my actions and I feel nauseous.<p>There is value to medications that inhibit or regulate serotonin, and every individual&#x27;s experience will be slightly different based on their genetics and the circumstances of their life. However, for me, even though I benefited from them at various points in my life (especially as a teenager), as an adult now I&#x27;m much more likely to depend on coping strategies I&#x27;ve learned through therapy than medication when it comes to dealing with my mood.