How Long Does Withdrawal From Antidepressants Last?

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsOverviewSignsTimelineCopingWarningsTreatment

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Overview

Signs

Timeline

Coping

Warnings

Treatment

Close

What is the most important information I should know about antidepressant withdrawal?Do not stop taking your antidepressant or reduce your dose without talking to your doctor first; doing so can lead to withdrawal symptoms.Seek medical attention immediately if you experience delirium, psychosis, or suicidal thoughts/behaviors.

What is the most important information I should know about antidepressant withdrawal?

Do not stop taking your antidepressant or reduce your dose without talking to your doctor first; doing so can lead to withdrawal symptoms.Seek medical attention immediately if you experience delirium, psychosis, or suicidal thoughts/behaviors.

Antidepressant withdrawal, also calleddiscontinuation syndrome,is when you experiencewithdrawal symptomsafter abruptly stopping or greatly reducing the dosage of an antidepressant medication.

Antidepressant withdrawal occurs in about 50% of people who have been taking an antidepressant, then suddenly quit taking it, or its dose is drastically lowered.

If you’re experiencing withdrawal from antidepressants, it can be helpful to learn more about what causes this to occur, common symptoms (and how long they last), as well as ways to cope.

Understanding Antidepressant Withdrawal

Two types of antidepressant medications that can lead to withdrawal areselective serotonin reuptake inhibitors(SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). Quickly quitting other types of antidepressants may lead to symptoms too.

How Reuptake Inhibitor Drugs Work

Antidepressants are not considered addictive in the sense that people generally don’t take them in an attempt to get the “high” experienced with other drugs. However, it is possible to develop a physical dependence on these medications, particularly when they’ve been used for long periods of time.

Some antidepressants may have a greater potential for withdrawal effects. One review found that SNRIs (like Effexor), and SSRIs (like Paxil) were associated with a higher risk for withdrawal symptoms compared to other antidepressants.

How Long Does Effexor Withdrawal Last?

Signs of Antidepressant Withdrawal

How do you know if you might be experiencing antidepressant withdrawal? Symptoms of antidepressant discontinuation syndrome can be easily remembered using the mnemonic FINISH:

Antidepressant Withdrawal vs. Relapse

Antidepressant withdrawal symptoms can be similar to the ones that prompted the use of this type of drug in the first place. This can raise the question of whether you are experiencing withdrawal when coming off antidepressants or reducing their dosage, or if you’re having a depression relapse.

Ways to tell the difference include:

If you are concerned that you are having a relapse of your depression when discontinuing your antidepressant, talk to your healthcare provider.

Antidepressant Withdrawal Timeline

The experience of antidepressant withdrawal can vary greatly from one person to the next. Factors affecting withdrawal—including how long symptoms last—include the type of antidepressant taken, its dosage, and the length of time the drug has been used.

Paxil (paroxetine)is the SSRI most associated with withdrawal whileProxac (fluoxetine)tends to have the fewest withdrawal symptoms.

Antidepressant withdrawal symptoms are usually fairly mild in the first one to three days, potentially intensifying before beginning to subside. It can take several weeks for all symptoms to resolve completely, with some people experiencing effects for months.

Phases of SSRI Withdrawal

If you are withdrawing from an SSRI, symptoms often occur in stages. Thetwo phases of SSRI withdrawalare acute and protracted withdrawal.

Some experts contend that there is a third phase of antidepressant withdrawal: rebound. Rebound can occur between acute and persistent withdrawal and consists of worsening of acute symptoms, lasting up to six weeks.

Lexapro Withdrawal: Symptoms, Timeline, & Treatment

Coping With Antidepressant Withdrawal

Here are a few more ways to prevent or cope with antidepressant withdrawal.

Ask Yourself: Why Am I Quitting?

This question could be important if you need further treatment during withdrawal, or afterward. Why is it that you are discontinuing your antidepressant?

Are you quitting it because you feel that you are over your depression? Do you dislike the side effects of the medication or are you unable to maintain the cost? These are all very different reasons and each one has important implications for what your experience of withdrawal could be like.

Depressionis a serious and potentially life-threatening illness if it is not properly treated. It’s important to consider all of your options and work with your healthcare provider to make the best choice for you.

Taper Off Slowly

No single tapering schedule works for everyone—and this schedule may change depending on how you respond. Factors considered when determining how rapidly or slowly you should wean off an antidepressant include:

How to Taper Off Your Antidepressant

Explore an Alternative

There are severaltypes of antidepressant medication. Each works differently in the brain, has different side effects, and may create different withdrawal experiences after being discontinued. It’s possible that your symptoms will respond more positively to a different medication from the one you were originally prescribed.

In addition to SSRIs and SNRIs, antidepressant options includetricyclic antidepressants,monoamine oxidase inhibitors(MAOIs), and atypical antidepressants.

Responses to antidepressants are very individual, so talk to your healthcare provider about how your prescribed medication affects you. For example, you may feel better emotionally on antidepressants but dislike the side effects, or you may do better with psychotherapy or lifestyle changes.

You may also have trouble with your antidepressant due toalcohol useor other psychoactive drugs.These possibilities are best discussed with a family doctor, psychiatrist, or psychologist, who will help you figure out an alternative treatment plan.

Start Moving

How Exercise Improves Mood

Warnings for Antidepressant Withdrawal

Although rare, some people have experienced severe reactions when discontinuing antidepressant medications.If you or someone you know has any of the following symptoms in response to reducing or discontinuing antidepressants, seek medical help immediately.

While these extreme reactions can be frightening to the person experiencing them and those around them, they can be treated.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact theNational Suicide Prevention Lifelineat988for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact theNational Suicide Prevention Lifelineat988for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.

For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

Beyond these rare but potentially serious side effects, there are several other dangers that can occur from abruptly stopping your antidepressant. For one, stopping your medication can set you back in your treatment, increasing the time it will take to start feeling like yourself again. Relapse is another danger to consider.

Relapse

Antidepressants sometimes help reduceanxietyand pain. Research shows that if these symptoms re-emerge when discontinuing an antidepressant, it can increase your risk of relapse.

If you have quit taking your antidepressant and have anxiety or chronic pain, talk with your healthcare provider about how to ease these issues without worsening your condition.

Antidepressant Withdrawal Treatment

Tapering antidepressant doses over the course of several weeks (more than four) is often recommended to treat, if not prevent withdrawal symptoms.This requires working with your healthcare provider to reduce your dosage slowly versus stopping your medication abruptly.

It’s also important to know that antidepressant withdrawal can be misdiagnosed, potentially increasing the amount of time you take this type of drug or taking it at higher-than-necessary doses.Working with a healthcare provider knowledgeable about the potential for withdrawal can help reduce the likelihood of this being missed.

If concern over antidepressant withdrawal makes you not want to take these medications to begin with, this also has consequences. Untreated depression is a majorrisk factor for suicide. Not to mention, you don’t feel your best mentally or physically when living with depression.

Can Depression Go Away on Its Own?

15 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Sørensen A, Jørgensen KJ, Munkholm K.Description of antidepressant withdrawal symptoms in clinical practice guidelines on depression: A systematic review.J Affect Disord. 2022;316:177-186. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2022.08.011

Horowitz MA, Framer A, Hengartner MP, Sørensen A, Taylor D.Estimating risk of antidepressant withdrawal from a review of published data.CNS Drugs. 2023;37(2):143-157. doi:10.1007/s40263-022-00960-y

Rizkalla M, Kowalkowski B, Prozialeck W.Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome: A common but underappreciated clinical problem.J Osteopath Med. 2020;120(3):174-178. doi:10.7556/jaoa.2020.030

Gabriel M, Sharma V.Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome.CMAJ. 2017;189(21):E747. doi:10.1503/cmaj.160991

Henssler J, Heinz A, Brandt L, Bschor T.Antidepressant withdrawal and rebound phenomena.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2019;116(20):355-361. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2019.0355

Wilson E, Lader M.A review of the management of antidepressant discontinuation symptoms.Ther Adv Psychopharmacol. 2015;5(6):357–368. doi:10.1177/2045125315612334

Hengartner MP, Davies J, Read J.How long does antidepressant withdrawal typically last?Am J Psychiatry. 2019;176(6):487. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.19020142

Jha MK, Rush AJ, Trivedi MH.When discontinuing SSRI antidepressants is a challenge: Management tips.Am J Psychiatry. 2018;175(12):1176-1184. doi10.1176/appi.ajp.2018.18060692

Hengartner MP, Schulthess L, Sorensen A, Framer A.Protracted withdrawal syndrome after stopping antidepressants: A descriptive quantitative analysis of consumer narratives from a large internet forum.Ther Adv Psychopharmacol. 2020. doi:10.1177/2045125320980573

Zwiebel SJ, Viguera AC.Discontinuing antidepressants: Pearls and pitfalls.Cleveland Clinic J Med. 2022;89(1):18-26. doi:10.3949/ccjm.89a.21020

Keks N, Hope J, Keogh S.Switching and stopping antidepressants.Aust Prescr. 2016;39(3):76–83. doi:10.18773/austprescr.2016.039

Faquih AE, Memon RI, Hafeez H, Zeshan M, Naveed S.A review of novel antidepressants: A guide for clinicians.Cureus. 2019;11(3):e4185. doi:10.7759/cureus.4185

Belvederi Murri M, Ekkekakis P, Magagnoli M, et al.Physical exercise in major depression: Reducing the mortality gap while improving clinical outcomes.Front Psychiatry. 2019;9:762. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00762

Petit J, Sansone RA.A case of interdose discontinuation symptoms with venlafaxine extended release.Prim Care Companion CNS Disord. 2011;13(5). doi:10.4088/PCC.11l01140

Alexander J, Berce G.Delirium as a symptom of tricyclic antidepressant withdrawal.Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2010;44(9):863. doi:10.3109/00048674.2010.497477American Psychiatric Association.Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th ed., text revision (DSM-5-TR). doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787Fava GA, Gatti A, Belaise C, Guidi J, Offidani E.Withdrawal symptoms after selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor discontinuation: A systematic review.Psychother Psychosom. 2015;84(2):72-81. doi:10.1159/000370338Harvard Health Publishing.Going off antidepressants.

Alexander J, Berce G.Delirium as a symptom of tricyclic antidepressant withdrawal.Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2010;44(9):863. doi:10.3109/00048674.2010.497477

American Psychiatric Association.Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th ed., text revision (DSM-5-TR). doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787

Fava GA, Gatti A, Belaise C, Guidi J, Offidani E.Withdrawal symptoms after selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor discontinuation: A systematic review.Psychother Psychosom. 2015;84(2):72-81. doi:10.1159/000370338

Harvard Health Publishing.Going off antidepressants.

Meet Our Review Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

What is your feedback?