For those who have been diagnosed with any of a number of mental health disorders related to depression, the collection of pharmaceuticals known as antidepressants can provide a lifeline—in some cases, quite literally.
That’s the good news. Antidepressants—whether they are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (like Zoloft and Prozac), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (like Nardil and Parnate), tricyclic antidepressants (like Anafranil and Elavil), or atypical antidepressants (like Wellbutrin and Cymbalta)—can improve the lives of those who take them by helping them climb out of the emotional hole their depression has dug for them.
But there is some bad news, too, including three potential issues a person taking antidepressants might have to grapple with. Some antidepressants come with a whole range of undesirable side effects. Some people build up tolerance to one drug or another, which means they may frequently have to change what they are taking to keep experiencing benefits. In some cases, use of antidepressants can lead to physical dependence, which means that the body will experience withdrawal symptoms if you try to stop taking the medication.
For our purposes here, we will focus on that last issue: antidepressant dependence. Let’s take a look at the ways in which a drug that is meant to help can become one that harms.
The Nature of Antidepressant Dependence
Generally speaking, few people who take antidepressants seem to develop the traditional symptoms or behaviors usually associated with a substance use disorder. You don’t, as a rule, find folks doctor-shopping in pursuit of extra Prozac or looking for an illicit source of Cymbalta. Antidepressants just don’t offer the kinds of high associated with, say, club drugs, for example, and thus are less likely to be misused in the same ways.
That said, those who take antidepressants can, in fact, develop a physical dependence on the drugs—which means that if they decide to stop taking their medication they are likely to experience withdrawal symptoms. In fact, the phenomenon is common enough that these withdrawal symptoms have their own name: antidepressant discontinuation symptoms.
These symptoms take a variety of forms and may include:
- Nausea and/or vomiting, blurred vision, runny nose, fatigue/lethargy, and chills or fever
- Headaches, dizziness, balance issues, tremors, dystonia, trouble walking, and tingling sensations
- Depression, anxiety, irritability, spates of crying, mood swings, insomnia, and intense dreams
- In extremely rare cases, mania and hallucinations
Strategies for Dealing with Antidepressant Discontinuation Symptoms
If you would like to stop taking your antidepressant for any reason, it is important that you talk with your prescribing physician. They will be able to talk with you about the pros and cons of discounting use, and they will be able to offer advice for how best to manage the withdrawal symptoms that may follow.
In general, a tapering approach, rather than just quitting “cold turkey,” is the most effective way to minimize the antidepressant discontinuation symptoms. The slow and steady reduction in the amount of the drug you are taking gives your body time to adjust to the change. Alternately, it is possible that your physician will suggest you switch to a different antidepressant—one with a longer half life—and then tapering off of that drug instead.
There Are Many Ways We Can Help
At Peak View Behavioral Health, we are prepared to help you address a substance use disorder or to help you stop taking antidepressants in a methodical way that can keep withdrawal symptoms at bay. Equally importantly, we have the expertise and compassion to help you address mental health disorders—like the depression that may have led to your use of antidepressants in the first place.
We want to be clear: antidepressants are often a wholly appropriate tool in the battle against depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders. But there are a range of non-pharmaceutical strategies as well—strategies that can be explored in individual and group therapy settings. The more strategies you are well equipped to deploy, the more likely it is that you will be able to manage your depression or other disorder in a healthy and sustainable way.
So whether you need assistance because you are struggling with drugs or because you are having trouble coping with a mental health disorder—or both—Peak View Behavioral Health can help. And that is the kind of news that no one should find depressing.
