A Kansas singer claims antidepressants changed their romantic and sexual preference.
June Henry, 19, from Lawrence, Kansas, said within weeks of starting a course of Wellbutrin she began questioning her sexuality.
Henry was in a polymerous relationship, which typically involve three or more people and are sexual as well as romantic.
In a video viewed by nearly 2million people on TikTok, Henry said: ‘I started medication about a month ago, and two or three weeks in, I woke up one day and I looked around, and I was like, why the f*** am I polyamorous?”’
Musician June Henry said going on Wellbutrin caused her to re-evaluate all aspects of her life, including her relationship. About two weeks into taking the medicine, she exited her polyamorous relationship and said she is truly happy
One of the benefits of Wellbutrin, Ms Henry said, was that she is no longer sleeping on a mattress on the floor. She said: ‘I’m no longer a polyamorous pink-haired b***h sleeping on a mattress on the floor. I’m stable and I’ve got a f*****g bed frame.’
In addition to exiting a ‘polycule’ – the word for a polyamorous group of at least three people – she took out her nose piercing and dyed her hair.
‘I was always scared of getting on medication because I thought it would take away from who I am,’ she said.
After a few weeks she woke up and began to question many parts of her life.
‘I began asking myself, why am I polyamorous?’
‘And then I dyed my hair brown, I took out my bridge piercing, I broke up with the ‘cule, and I have never been happier.’
Wellbutrin is used to treat depression but differs from the most common type of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
Among the changes that Ms Henry underwent was a drastic change to her hair color from a bright pink to a natural shade of brown
It belongs to a class of drugs called norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitors (NDRIs).
Rather than working by maintaining steady levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain for longer, Wellbutrin works on the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and dopamine, keeping more steady levels of both in the brain for a longer period.
Ms Henry went on to say: ‘Then I dyed my hair brown, I took out my bridge piercing, I broke up with the ‘cule, and I have never been happier… I feel so f*****g stable and so normal.’
Because Wellbutrin does not act on serotonin, changes to which can cause sexual side effects, it is considered to have few if any sexual side effects.
Yet some commenters on Ms Henry’s video who said they also take Wellbutrin have experienced similar changes in their sexuality and preferences.
One wrote: ‘I too stopped being polyamorous once I was properly medicated.’
Another said: ‘Giiiirl being on meds made me go from nonbinary to one of the girlies ���� I’m just… good. I feel like I’ve betrayed my kin but like, I’m happy as me.’
A commenter pointed out that the likelier explanation, rather than fundamentally altering who we find sexually attractive, the medication ‘just makes us comfier being ourselves.’
Dopamine’s involvement in sexual drive and satisfaction suggests it could also affect who a person becomes physically attracted to.
High levels of both dopamine and norepinephrine are released in moments of attraction, so a drug that boosts those levels could contribute to changes in levels of attraction and even who a person finds most attractive.
An estimated 33 million Americans takes an antidepressant medication. It can be a lifesaver for people with major depression or seasonal affective disorder.
But the side effects – which include headaches, weight gain or loss, constipation, and dizziness – can be intolerable for some people.
Antidepressants have also been known to increase thoughts of suicide, particularly among young people prescribed them.
