BOOK REVIEW –
March, 2022 – As some of the millions of people on psychiatric medication inevitably decide to discontinue their meds for one reason or another, what I’m witnessing is that there are legions of people in the midst of withdrawal who are experiencing such symptoms as insomnia, irritability, depression, anxiety, something called “brain zaps,” and even suicidal thoughts. They feel alone in this experience, and struggle to find support or appropriate guidance from doctors.
This situation is made even more difficult by the fact that psychiatrists are not even taught how to help people get off these drugs; in fact, most deny the very idea that getting off psych meds can cause withdrawal. In our training, we’re instructed that if a patient becomes symptomatic soon after getting off their antidepressant—exhibiting signs of increased anxiety, panic, insomnia, crying spells, or worsening mood—this should be considered a relapse, as opposed to withdrawal.
We currently have an epidemic of people experiencing withdrawal symptoms upon discontinuation, without knowing they should attribute these symptoms to their medication. Instead, they either blame themselves or their life circumstances, or simply see it as a relapse—and an indication that the medication was helping. It’s important for people to realize that becoming symptomatic in the wake of decreasing the dose of a psychiatric medication is not necessarily an indication of relapse. It is withdrawal. And it can and should be supported through a variety of measures that help the body move through the withdrawal process more smoothly.
