Reports of low mood, blunted pleasure, and suicidal thoughts on GLP-1 medications prompted a formal regulatory review in 2023. The data showed more reports of suicidal ideation and depression, but later studies and regulators found no causal link, and in January 2026 the FDA asked for the suicidality warning to be removed from several labels. Whatever the cause, a persistent change in mood is worth raising with your care team.
Why this became a concern
In 2023, the European Medicines Agency received reports of suicidal thoughts and self-injury in people taking liraglutide and semaglutide, and opened a formal safety review. An analysis of the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) then found semaglutide and liraglutide had more reports of suicidal ideation and "depression/suicidal" events than other diabetes medications. It found no excess reporting of suicidal behavior, suicide attempts, or completed suicide for any FDA-approved GLP-1 medication, and the authors concluded that, by standard causality criteria, the data did not establish a causal link (McIntyre et al., Expert Opinion on Drug Safety, 2023, DOI (external link)).
How to read those reports
FAERS collects reports, not confirmed cases caused by a drug. It's a tool for spotting possible signals, and it's prone to reporting bias: public worry about a safety issue can itself drive up reports. The researchers separated two things, more reports of ideation and depression versus any increase in suicidal behavior or deaths, and only the first showed up. That's a meaningful difference, and it doesn't mean the reports should be ignored.
What later evidence and regulators found
Stronger evidence followed. A retrospective cohort of 240,618 people with overweight or obesity found semaglutide was associated with a lower risk of new suicidal ideation than non-GLP-1 weight-loss medications (HR 0.27), with the same pattern in 1.6 million people with type 2 diabetes (Wang et al., Nature Medicine, 2024, DOI (external link)). The EMA's safety committee closed its review in April 2024, concluding that the evidence does not support a causal association between GLP-1 receptor agonists and suicidal or self-injurious thoughts and actions. The FDA's preliminary evaluation in January 2024 reached the same conclusion. In January 2026, after a meta-analysis of 91 trials with about 108,000 participants found no increased risk, the FDA asked manufacturers to remove the suicidal-ideation warning from the Saxenda, Wegovy, and Zepbound labels. Label wording can change, so check the current prescribing information.
Where anhedonia fits in
Anhedonia, a general blunting of pleasure that goes beyond food, is a separate question from suicidality, and it has much less evidence behind it. There are no controlled studies showing that GLP-1 medications cause it. What exists:
- Animal research. In mice, semaglutide dampened the response of dopamine neurons involved in eating for pleasure, though appetite for palatable food recovered with repeated dosing (Zhu et al., Science, 2025, DOI (external link)). That shows the drugs act on reward circuits, not that people lose pleasure in general. Our guide on suppression, satiation, and satiety covers the appetite side.
- Case reports. A 2026 series described three women on high-dose tirzepatide (15 mg weekly) who reported reduced motivation and emotional "flatness" after prolonged treatment. Symptoms improved when the dose was lowered, in one case with added bupropion, and weight loss was maintained (Nadolsky et al., Obesity Pillars, 2026, DOI (external link)). Three cases can't tell you how common this is or prove the drug caused it.
- Studies pointing the other way. A 2025 systematic review of GLP-1 drugs and psychiatric symptoms found mixed, inconclusive results overall, and in one mood-disorder study liraglutide improved depression and anhedonia (Meshkat et al., Brain and Behavior, 2025, DOI (external link)).
So anhedonia on a GLP-1 is possible and worth reporting, but it isn't established as a drug effect, and researchers are still working to understand it.
Take mood changes seriously regardless
You don't need proof that the medication caused a change for it to deserve care. Persistent low mood, losing interest in things you used to enjoy, or any thoughts of self-harm should go to a healthcare provider promptly. If you have thoughts of self-harm, treat it as an emergency and get help immediately, whatever the cause.
How to raise it with your care team
Tell your prescriber about mood changes clearly and specifically, including when they started relative to starting or adjusting your dose. If food-related mood changes are part of what you're noticing, our guide on talking to a mental health provider about body image or disordered eating history may also help. For how the suicidality claim holds up against other common GLP-1 claims, see GLP-1 myths vs. facts.
Study findings above are attributed to their authors and were located via PubMed.
This article is for general education and is not medical advice. Talk with your prescriber or care team about your own situation. If you are having thoughts of self-harm, contact your local emergency number or crisis line now.