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About one in six adults are on an antidepressant — and over half of them are on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
Because they’ve been around for almost four decades, we know a lot about their benefits, risks and side effects.
But authors of a new case study say that one side effect in particular is under-reported, and could be mistaken for an urgent medical emergency or neurological condition.
They’re sharing the strange story of a 44-year-old single mother of five from rural Rwanda who began taking escitalopram, aka Lexapro — and started yawning constantly.
She was yawning six times every 15 minutes, all day long.
The woman was referred to a psychiatric evaluation in May 2026 after an emotional crisis that coincided with the anniversary of the 1994 genocide in the country, authors wrote.
She reported five months of worsening depression, including persistent low mood, loss of interest and pleasure in things she once enjoyed, reduced appetite, fatigue, insomnia, and functioning at work.
Doctors determined she was having a severe depressive episode and post-traumatic stress disorder. They started her on 10 mg of Lexapro, a standard starting dose, with supportive psychotherapy.
She noticed something was off within days — she had six yawning “episodes” every 15 minutes.
Strangely, she said she wasn’t sleepy or dizzy. She also wasn’t confused, weak or experiencing other neurological symptoms.
While she yawned, the medicine was at work. Authors noted her sleep and mood improved.
Doctors suspected the Lexapro was causing it, but systematically ruled out other possibilities. Ultimately, they decided to keep using the SSRI because it was working and the side effect, though strange, was bearable.
After two weeks, the yawning decreased “substantially” and her depression continued to improve.
Why it matters
We yawn to wake up our brains and cool them down, and do it up to 20 times a day. But when people do it too much — more than three times over 15 minutes, several times a day — it can spell trouble.
It could be a sign of sleep issues or conditions like narcolepsy, or something serious and neurological, like ALS, epilepsy or head trauma. Some causes require urgent care, like stroke or heart attack.
Yawning is a well-known side effect of Lexapro and a number of other SSRIs, including fluoxetine (Prozac). But researchers are really not sure why it happens.
One theory is that increased serotonin from the SSRIs is reducing dopamine, which is responsible for triggering yawning. The serotonin might also be affecting the frontal lobe, which is responsible for arousal and alertness.
Authors of the case study say the importance of this woman’s story is that it shows doctors don’t necessarily need to take patients off or lower the dose of their SSRIs, as was done in other case studies.
“When the symptom is tolerable and the antidepressant is effective, reassurance and monitoring may allow treatment to continue, avoiding unnecessary investigations and premature discontinuation,” they wrote.
