Antidepressant withdrawal: why has it been ignored for so long?

The PJ Pod

Until recently, the withdrawal symptoms some people experience after stopping an antidepressant were not recognised as a serious problem. However, they can be extremely distressing, and so patients have been forced to set up their own online support groups to share information how best to taper antidepressant doses. In this episode, executive editor Nigel Praities talks with Adele Framer, founder of SurvivingAntidepressants.Org, one of the largest peer-support groups, about her and many other patients' experiences. Wendy Burn, former chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, describes what has led to a remarkable turnaround in attitudes among specialist doctors to withdrawal symptoms in the UK, and David Taylor, professor of psychopharmacology at King's College London, explains the latest evidence on how to prevent serious these symptoms from occurring. Specialist mental health pharmacist Chris Johnson also speaks about his work with GP practices in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, to review the antidepressants taken by more than 10,000 patients. Here is the guidance on stopping antidepressants from the Royal College of Psychiatrists: https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mental-health/treatments-and-wellbeing/stopping-antidepressants This episode was produced by Geoff Marsh and additional research was carried out by Abigail James. We are grateful to Peter Groot from Utrecht University, Netherlands, for his help with this episode.