Peer-Support Groups Were Right, Guidelines Were Wrong: Dr. Mark Horowitz on Tapering Off Antidepressants
In an interview with MIA, Dr. Horowitz discusses his recent article on why tapering off antidepressants can take months or even years.
Fear and Belief in “Chemical Imbalance” Prevent People from Coming Off Antidepressants
Researchers interviewed people who were given medical advice to discontinue antidepressants.
Stopping SSRI Antidepressants Can Cause Long, Intense Withdrawal Problems
In the first systematic review of withdrawal problems that patients experience when trying to get off SSRI antidepressant medications, researchers found that withdrawing from SSRIs was comparable to trying to quit addictive benzodiazepines.
Lithium May Cause Sexual Dysfunction — More Research Needed
Lithium appears to reduce libido and sexual function, and more research into the problem is needed.
Very Slow Tapering Best For Antidepressant Withdrawal
A new article in Lancet Psychiatry finds that slower tapering of SSRIs is better for preventing antidepressant withdrawal effects.
NICE Guideline Update Acknowledges Severe Antidepressant Withdrawal
A new update to the NICE guideline for depression suggests providers discuss long-term, severe antidepressant withdrawal symptoms.
Gradual Tapering is Most Successful for Withdrawal from Antipsychotics
Mixed-Methods study explores the experiences of antipsychotic discontinuation among service users.
Study Finds Improved Functioning for ‘Schizophrenia’ Without Antipsychotics
Long-term treatment with antipsychotic drugs is currently considered the standard treatment for patients diagnosed with ‘schizophrenia.’ A new study challenges this practice, however. The...
Long-term Use of Lithium Can Cause Kidney Failure
A third of patients who have taken the common psychiatric medication lithium for over ten years have developed "chronic renal failure" from the drug.
Danish Study Finds Better 10-year Outcomes in Patients Off Antipsychotics
Study finds that 74% of patients with a psychotic disorder off antipsychotics at end of 10 years are in remission.
Withdrawal Symptoms Routinely Confound Findings of Psychiatric Drug Studies
Researchers examine how rapid discontinuation can mimic the relapse of mental health symptoms and confound psychiatric drug studies.
SNRIs Added to the List of Drugs with Potential Withdrawal Symptoms
New research suggests that clinicians should exercise caution prescribing SNRIs as first-line treatment for mood and anxiety disorders.
Psychiatrists Argue For More Attention to Iatrogenic Harms
Psychiatrists argue that current practice fails to account for the interaction of biological, psychosocial and iatrogenic factors.
Common Benzodiazepine Sedatives May Induce Aggression
Benzodiazepine medications that are commonly used for calming or sedating people can sometimes apparently cause violent or aggressive responses in some people, according to...
Antidepressants Actually Reduce Serotonin Levels
Common scientific beliefs about serotonin levels in depression and how antidepressants act on the brain appear to be completely backwards.
New Study Explores Approaches to Discontinuing Antidepressants
Psychiatrist and psychologist outline pharmacological and psychotherapeutic strategies for discontinuing antidepressants.
New Study Examines User Experience of Discontinuing Psychiatric Medications
Researchers find that support and self-care were helpful for users during discontinuation, but that mental health professionals were not very helpful.
Antipsychotic Medications Are Causing Obsessive Compulsive Disorders
Common second-generation antipsychotic medications are causing symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder to emerge in many people who previously only had schizophrenia symptoms, according to a...
New Clinical Guidelines on Deprescribing Benzodiazepines
New guidelines recommend deprescribing benzodiazepine receptor agonists for adults.
Systematic Review Finds Antidepressant Withdrawal Common and Potentially Long-lasting
Prominent researchers conduct a review of antidepressant withdrawal incidence, duration, and severity. Results lead to call for new clinical guidelines.
“Treatment Resistant” Schizophrenia Strongly Linked to Dopamine Supersensitivity
Over 70% of schizophrenia patients who are "treatment resistant" have apparently developed dopamine supersensitivity psychosis from long-term use of antipsychotic medications.
STOP or GO? Tapering Pregnant Women off of Antidepressants
A team in the Netherlands is currently investigating the effects of tapering off of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during pregnancy....
Autism, Antidepressants, and Pregnancy: The Basics
This month, the seventh study and eighth study came out on the topic of antidepressant exposure during pregnancy and autism. And these studies showed, as essentially all of the others have, that antidepressant use during pregnancy (principally with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs) is associated with autism in the exposed children. With so many children being diagnosed with autism and so many women taking antidepressants during pregnancy, everyone wants to know: are these things (the antidepressants) associated with autism or not? Quite frankly no one has the time to read through all eight scientific papers (and dozens more animal and basic science studies) to understand this important area, so I will do my best to briefly summarize it here.
More Psychological Supports Needed to Manage Antidepressant Discontinuation
Study reviews psychological interventions for antidepressant discontinuation.
Antipsychotic-induced Sexual Dysfunction Underreported
Researchers found some antipsychotics to be worse than others for causing sexual dysfunction.
