Doctors are finally learning to manage antidepressant withdrawal

Patients withdrawing from SSRIs such as escitalopram report severe symptoms—including panic attacks, dizziness, insomnia and depersonalisation—often worse than the original depression, while clinicians have provided little guidance on tapering. Recent research, including a study of 670,000 depressed individuals, shows modest efficacy and reveals that 16% of US adults and about 15% in the UK and Australia are on SSRIs, typically for a median of five years, highlighting the need for updated prescribing and withdrawal protocols.