Can I stop Antidepressants? The Truth

“Can I stop antidepressants medications” is a common question that we received on our European site, many people are just not happy to live their lives continually on the drugs. We are in no way anti medication, the pills have done wonderful things for many people and there are some who may need to be on the pills forever but this is not the end of the story. Can I stop antidepressants is a good question and what we have shown people in over 10 countries is that it is best to go beyond drugs, what this means is that pills should not be the last step in your healing process.

The negative effects on depression medication

As many soon find out on depression medications, the drugs are not “happy pills”, one of the more common complaints on the drugs is a feeling of numbness, it has been described as having no “highs” or lows. Some say they are simply living without really “feeling”. Many have stopping the drugs because they want to “feel again”.

Prozac and Zoloft are just two such depression medications that have been linked to a numb feeling, there are many who are simply tired of being medicated. An email from a woman who has been on depression drugs for over 10 years stated “Can I stop antidepressant, I am simply tired of being on these pills” The thought of a lifetime on these pills can be very discouraging to many people, we advocate going beyond medications even if you are going to stay on the pills.

Withdrawals from stopping? True or False?

Cymbalta and Effexor are know to have the strongest withdrawal symptoms according to many users, much will also depend in the nature of the depression, there is “situational depression” such as those related to death for example or a break up and then there is clinical depression which deals with long term depression is caused by disruptions in the brain chemicals Serotonin and Neurotransmitters. Many people are suffering from post traumatic stress from abuses and this can also create brain changes that can lead to depression.

Abused children have a high rate of depression when they become adults. Harvard researchers led by Dr. Martin Teicher studied nearly 200 people aged 18 to 25, the study concluded that abuses(maltreatment) caused mental illnesses, child maltreatment often leads to conditions like depression and PTSD.

This brings us back to the question “Can I stop antidepressants?”, It is clear that some medications do not have the same withdrawal effects, some people have stopped cold turkey and some have slowly lowered the dosages and gradually quit. There are some who could not go more than a year without returning to the pills. It is best to speak to a doctor before stopping on your own and although many do stop on their own this is not what we advice. We advice going beyond medication, inner healing that fills you back up emotionally this is what people have done in over 10 countries. “Can I stop antidepressants? It depends on the individual but you must replace the antidepressant with something. People in over 10 countries learned how to reverse depression by using an inside out treatment, many were able to stop all medications 

See here   Go Beyond Medications