PEOPLE reducing antidepressant medication may be experiencing withdrawal rather than a return of depression or anxiety, new research has found.
A study led by Adelaide University and Swiss researchers followed more than 30 patients as they gradually reduced antidepressant doses over six months.
Researchers found depression and anxiety symptoms commonly increased after a dose reduction before settling once medication levels remained steady.
Senior author and Adelaide University Associate Professor of Psychiatry Dr Mark Horowitz said the pattern was more consistent with withdrawal than relapse.
“Withdrawal symptoms tend to follow a wave pattern, shooting up after a dose reduction and settling when the dose is held steady,” he said.
“Relapse doesn’t do that, it tends to get worse and worse.”
Researchers also found worsening mood was closely associated with physical withdrawal symptoms including headaches, dizziness and “brain zaps”.
When researchers accounted for those withdrawal effects, they found there was no longer a significant change in participants’ depression scores.
About one in seven Australians takes an antidepressant each year, with guidelines generally recommending treatment for six to 12 months following an episode of depression or anxiety.
Dr Horowitz said withdrawal effects were increasingly recognised as more common and severe than previously thought and could leave patients believing they needed medication indefinitely.
“Stopping antidepressants can be very difficult. An increase in symptoms can often be interpreted as evidence that long-term treatment is needed,” he said.
The study concluded that slower reductions may help minimise withdrawal symptoms and reduce the risk they are mistaken for relapse.
Dr Horowitz urged patients not to stop antidepressants abruptly and instead seek medical advice about gradually reducing their dose.
The findings were published in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.