Withdrawal syndrome with antidepressants: what it is and what to do about it

Stopping taking antidepressants can lead to withdrawal problems.

Antidepressants are among the most widely used drugs in the world of psychiatry, but they are nonetheless substances whose use carries the risk of developing unwanted effects.

In fact, some people develop a problematic dependence on these drugs, which leads to withdrawal syndrome. withdrawal syndrome if they stop taking antidepressants.. Let's see what to do to avoid these complications.

What are Antidepressant drugs?

As their name indicates, antidepressants are drugs commonly used in the treatment of depressive disorders, and which are usually taken orally.They are usually taken orally in pill form. This kind of psychopathology is characterized by symptoms linked to low mood and the inability to experience interest or incentive in the stimuli provided by the environment.

For example, it is common for people with major depression to spend most of their free time lying on the sofa or in bed and have hardly any social life or interest in participating in projects or any activity that is not mandatory (and in the most severe cases, the difficulties in experiencing pleasure or in feeling enthusiasm for things give rise to constant suicidal thoughts, or directly to attempts to end one's own life in the face of the feeling of hopelessness and unease).

In this way, antidepressant drugs work by work by intervening in the patient's neuronal activation patterns.The active ingredients cross the blood-brain barrier to reach the neuronal receptors, where these molecules are captured. To do this, their active ingredients cross the blood-brain barrier to reach the neuronal receptors, where these molecules are captured.

In short, the active ingredients of antidepressants compensate for the abnormal functioning of the brain and perform the tasks that in a person without depression would be carried out by neurotransmitters (molecules used by the nervous system for its neurons to communicate with each other and which, for some reason, are scarce or do not do their job properly in people with depression).

However, the fit between antidepressants and the brains of people diagnosed with depressive disorders is not perfect. In fact, much is still unknown about how they work, and they are used because in many cases they help, although it is not known exactly why. They are not even used in all cases in which there is depression, nor only with psychological disorders of a depressive type: we must not forget that the chemical interactions that occur in the brain are very complex and to some extent unpredictable.

It is for this reason that the consumption of these medications is always accompanied by risks.Therefore, they should be taken under medical indication and assistance. Among these unwanted effects is the withdrawal syndrome, a phenomenon that can also arise when trying to stop taking drugs taken outside the clinical context (tobacco, cannabis, alcohol, etc.).

What does withdrawal with antidepressants look like?

After months of taking antidepressants, the brain adapts to this situation by modifying its neuronal connections as if the drug were a permanent element of the nervous system. In other words, as the active ingredient is present in the body every day, the body acts accordingly. However, this also goes hand in hand goes hand in hand with the phenomenon known as toleranceThis "readjustment" means that the effect of the drug after three months of taking it is weaker than on the first day of taking the pill, at least if the same amount is consumed.

The flip side of this is that, at the end or interruption of treatment, about one third of patients develop withdrawal syndrome, a set of symptoms associated with the drug.withdrawal syndrome: a set of symptoms associated with discomfort that appear because the brain is "missing" something. The most frequent and important symptoms are these:

• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Headache
• Insomnia
• Irritability
• Sexual dysfunctions
• Anxiety

Fortunately, withdrawal symptoms can appear in varying degrees of intensity, and not all of them are veryand not all of them are very problematic. Moreover, with medical supervision, it tends to disappear in a matter of two weeks: little by little, the nervous system gets used to the new situation, just as it adapted to the presence of the drug.

In any case, withdrawal syndrome is one of the reasons why it is essential to have medical supervision not only when taking an antidepressant psychopharmaceutical, but also when stopping it. Normally, the withdrawal of this medication is done gradually, so that the symptoms do notThe withdrawal of this medication is usually done gradually, so that the symptoms do not burst with great intensity in the person's life.

Are you looking for addiction treatment?

If you want to have professional treatment for drug and psychotropic addiction problems, we invite you to get in touch with us.

At CITA Clinics we specialize in providing therapy and health and psychological care for people with addictive disorders with or without substances. We offer outpatient and inpatient care in our fully equipped residential module located in an environment full of nature. You will find us in Barcelona and in Dosrius (Mataró).