June 5, 2024

Withdrawal symptoms when stopping antidepressants – a systematic review and meta-analysis

For some people, when they stop taking antidepressants, they can experience unpleasant symptoms such as dizziness, headache, nausea and insomnia. There has been some debate as to how common it is for people to experience these symptoms and whether they are caused by stopping the drugs. Publishing in The Lancet Psychiatry, researchers have looked at data from 79 trials, which included data from 21,002 patients, to assess the evidence we have available on the prevalence and severity of antidepressant withdrawal symptoms.

Journalists came to hear from the authors of the study about their analysis, what they’ve found, and any implications it has for people looking to stop taking their antidepressants.

Speakers included:

Dr Jonathan Henssler, Head of Evidence-Based Mental Health Group, Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin

Prof Christopher Baethge, Professor at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne