If you have reduced or stopped an antidepressant and now feel dizzy, panicky, emotionally raw, unable to sleep or unlike yourself, you may be trying to understand whether this could be withdrawal, a return of your original condition or something else.
This page gives you a simple route through PAWS Long-Term. Start with the section that best matches where you are now. You do not need to read everything at once.
Before making medication changes
PAWS Long-Term shares lived experience and general information. It cannot diagnose symptoms, provide an individual tapering schedule or replace care from a qualified healthcare professional.
Do not stop, restart or change the dose of an antidepressant because of something you read here. Speak with your prescriber or pharmacist. NHS and NICE guidance advises that antidepressants should normally be reduced in stages using a plan agreed with the person prescribing them.
Choose where to begin
- I need urgent or crisis support — visit the Contact page for urgent-help options.
- I have recently reduced or stopped an antidepressant — begin with What Happens When You Stop Taking Antidepressants?
- My symptoms appeared weeks or months later — read Can Antidepressant Withdrawal Start Months Later?
- I want to understand the lived experience behind this website — visit My Story.
- I want reliable external information and support — visit Resources.
Prepare for a healthcare appointment
Withdrawal symptoms can make it difficult to remember dates, describe what has changed or explain how daily life has been affected. Before an appointment, write down:
- the name of your medication and your current dose;
- the dates of recent dose reductions, missed doses, stopping or restarting;
- when each new or changed symptom began;
- changes in sleep, mood, physical sensations and daily functioning;
- the most important questions you want to ask.
Take these notes with you or keep them on your phone. A short written record can make it easier to explain what has happened when concentration, memory or anxiety make conversations difficult.