A short YouTube video by Amber Hollingsworth exploring anecdotal reports that semaglutide (brand: Ozempic) — widely discussed for weight loss — may also reduce addictive, impulsive, or compulsive behaviors. The creator emphasizes there is no published research yet, cites numerous Reddit anecdotes (reduced drinking, shopping, skin-picking, hair-pulling), notes possible involvement of dopamine/reward pathways and reported side effects ("Ozempic personality"), and offers a personal, non-medical perspective while inviting viewer experiences in the comments.
Chapters
Now, you've probably heard people talking about the drug Ozempic. A lot of people are saying this is the new wonder drug for helping people to lose weight. You probably heard all about that. But you may not have heard that semaglutide, which is the active ingredient in Ozempic, might have some pretty promising effects on the world of addiction, like, across the board. Now, before we go much further, I have to put my little disclaimer in here. I am not a doctor. This is not medical advice. I am not telling you to take or not take any medicine drug at all. Okay. I just thought was kind of interesting and we maybe we could have a discussion about it, because I want to know what you think. And I also got to tell you, there is no published research out there yet about the effects of Ozempic or semaglutide on addiction, but there's a whole lot of talk about it. All you got to do is hop onto Reddit if you want to see what I'm talking about. You're going to see person after person after person talking about how they started using the medicine, maybe for the weight loss effects, and then they noticed it was having effects on other kind of like habitual or compulsive or impulsive behaviors. You hear people talking about how it's helped them to drink less, about how it's helped them to stop over shopping. And to my surprise, there was actually a lot of people on there talking about how it helped them to stop, like, picking behaviors. You know what I'm talking about? Like, if you tend to, like, pick at your cuticles or it or pull on your hair or, you know, like a scab or like dry skin or something like that. People are talking about how it's helped to either stop it or really reduce it. Now, of course, these are just subjective opinions. This is not empirical data, but it is super interesting. Wouldn't it be great if there was something out there that could help curb addiction? Now, some of you may have cringed when I said that, because you might be thinking, well, yeah, that's great, but isn't that cheating if you're taking a medicine to, you know, like, overcome an addiction? And I say, no, it's not cheating, I'm open to whatever works. Right now, there are some things you don't want to do because the risk is more than the reward. And I don't know, that could be the same about these substances and that could be the same about this medicine, too. But over the years, there's been a lot of other Medications that have come along that have shown promise related to addiction, and some of them actually work. And when my clients ask me about them, as in, like, should I take them or is that cheating? I say, no, it is not cheating. When you choose to take every active step possible to overcome this big, giant problem that's messing up your whole life and your whole family's life, then, hey, that's the opposite of cheating. That's saying, I am going to do whatever it takes, and if this helps, then I'm going to do it. Now, obviously, you know, I'm not talking about, like, replacing one addiction for the other. Like, I'm not talking about, I'm going to stop cocaine, I'm going to start drinking more. Okay, that's not what we're talking about here. Obviously, you need to be smart about about this. Now, we don't really know why semaglutide or Ozempic seems to be having these effects on people. We know why it affects weight loss, right? Because it mimics this hormone that helps you feel fuller, faster. But we don't know how it really works on the dopamine system. But it does seem like maybe there's some connection there. There's this thing out there that's called Ozempic personality, because some people say that it makes them feel more like, lethargic, less motivated, maybe even more depressed or anxious, which sounds kind of crummy, actually. If that's a side effect, you don't want to take something that the side effects are worse than the benefits. Right? But in that same vein, if it makes you sort of less motivated, then it could be acting on your dopamine reward system, which could help you gain more control over those impulsive, compulsive behavioral issues that you're trying to fix. The truth is, I don't really know if this drug is going to be helpful when it comes to addiction, but it sure is interesting. And what I really want is to hear from you. Have you taken this medication? Have you noticed any effects on these other issues in your life, like any kind of addictive substance use or any kind of addictive behavior? Love to hear all about your experience in the comments below.
