Antidepressants addiction

Antidepressants are psychotropic drugs that normalize the functioning of the mental and nervous systems. They affect neurotransmitters, reduce the severity of depressive symptoms, and improve cognitive skills. Some of the antidepressants have a pronounced analgesic effect.

Treatment of addiction to antidepressants became relevant when it turned out that they are addictive, physical and psychological. Today it has been proven that many mental disorders are caused not only by a low level of the mediator serotonin, but also by hormonal disorders and somatic diseases.

The main effect of modern antidepressants is a qualitative increase in the level of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, etc. Taking them gives a noticeable effect:

• The emotional background improves and stabilizes;
• The feeling of anxiety decreases;
• Emotional stress decreases;
• Sleep is normalized;
• Appetite improves;
• Mental activity increases.

Modern psychotropic drugs, which are prescribed by doctors after differential diagnosis, do not cause physical and mental dependence. As soon as the medication begins to work and the patient’s condition improves, he often decides to stop taking pills. But with an abrupt and unjustified cessation of medication or an overdose due to self-medication, antidepressants cause withdrawal symptoms.

It is important to understand that the prescription of treatment should be based on the results of research, diagnosis of concomitant diseases, the therapy of which may be incompatible with taking antidepressants.

If, after cancellation, there is a relapse of the underlying disease, it may take a long time in the future to stabilize the physical and psycho-emotional state again.

Consequences of antidepressant withdrawal syndrome

Psychotropic drugs that affect neurotransmitters are prescribed for a long time. Their abrupt withdrawal or dose reduction can lead to the following symptoms:

• Nausea and vomiting
• Stool disorders
• Spasms and pain in the intestines
• Headaches
• Hyperhidrosis
• Sleep disorders
• Mood swings
• Panic attacks
• Tremor
• Excessive arousal
• Sexual Misconduct
• Tachycardia

The symptoms of withdrawal syndrome of drugs that affect neurotransmitters sometimes resemble signs of mental disorders and neuroses. If the symptoms appeared immediately (in a few days), and among them there are somatic ones that were not present when the disease was diagnosed and at the beginning of treatment, this indicates a withdrawal syndrome.

Psychotropic drugs with a short half-life after withdrawal cause more pronounced symptoms in a short period of time than drugs with a long half-life. Abrupt withdrawal from an antidepressant does not give the brain time to adapt to changes in transmitter levels. It causes adverse somatic, sensory, cognitive, and physical symptoms.

Treatment methods

Antidepressants should not be stopped at once and without consulting a doctor. Specialists of the Kartushynska Clinic have extensive practical experience in prescribing antidepressants as maintenance therapy for the duration of treatment. Therefore, only a gradual reduction in the dose is practiced based on the clinical picture. Depending on the specific drug, the entire process of quitting antidepressants can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.

Methods of therapy for the withdrawal of antidepressants:

• Resumption of medication with a slow and gradual reduction in the dose of the drug taken.
• Switching from antidepressants with a short half-life to longer ones, reducing the dose taken and stopping it.

Treatment of addiction to antidepressants with this method gives the body’s biological systems time to adapt.