Tapering off Antidepressants

Before we dive in, I want to make it clear that this blog is my personal story. I am not a medical professional, and nothing here should be taken as medical advice. If you are considering tapering, please consult your doctor and pharmacist to ensure you do so safely.

If you know my story and the reason behind Pockets of Bliss, you’ll know that in 2023, I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. By August of that year, I started taking antidepressants. I never thought I’d be one of the 8 million people in the UK currently on antidepressants, a staggering statistic that continues to rise.

Taking antidepressants was something I initially associated with stigma and shame. I didn’t actively resist them, but I wasn’t coping well at all. I vividly remember sitting on my sofa one afternoon after leaving the cinema just 15 minutes into a film, crying my eyes out and realising I needed help. I gave in.

For me, antidepressants were beneficial. They gave me the clarity and stability to start working on myself, helping me get my head above the clouds after being lost in darkness for so long. However, fast forward to April 2025, and I have now tapered down from 100mg to 68mg, a slow and steady process over the past six months.

Some may think, Wow, that’s such a long process! Others may know people who have come off them within a month. But I’m what I call a self-proclaimed rabbit hole information researcher, and I know that tapering too quickly isn’t ideal. In fact, updated NICE guidelines now recommend that adults taper their medication gradually to minimise withdrawal symptoms.

In my research, I’ve joined forums, asked questions, and even reached out to Dr. Mark Horowitz, who runs the first deprescribing clinic in North East London and has conducted extensive research on safely tapering off antidepressants to minimise withdrawal effects. I also purchased a section of his book that specifically covers my medication. While the new NICE guidelines now align with what I’ve learned, this wasn’t always the case.

According to Dr. Horowitz’s research:

"Guidelines once recommended short tapers of between 2-4 weeks, reducing doses to therapeutic minimums or half-minimums before complete cessation. Studies now show these methods offer minimal benefits over abrupt discontinuation and are often poorly tolerated by patients."
Source: Dr. Mark Horowitz's paper on tapering SSRIs

Dr. Horowitz advises a slow tapering approach, suggesting reductions of 5%-10% per month over several months or even years. However, even this may be too fast for some individuals, depending on their medication and duration of use. For my specific antidepressant, his research outlines three tapering schedules:

• Fast taper: 10% reduction per month

• Moderate taper: 5% reduction per month

• Slow taper: 2.5% reduction per month

I’ve personally alternated between 10% and 5% reductions, with my next scheduled decrease happening in a week. Yes, this is a long game, but I’m committed to reducing withdrawal symptoms as much as possible, especially after being on antidepressants for over 18 months.

To be clear, I’m not suggesting that anyone needs to come off their antidepressants. This is my personal choice. I’ve weighed the benefits and challenges and decided it’s time to try. While antidepressants have helped me tremendously, the weight gain I’ve experienced has become detrimental to both my physical and mental health. I’ve also learned about potential long-term effects that weren’t mentioned when I was first prescribed them.

Interestingly, when I was referred to my pharmacist for dosage reduction, I was advised to drop from 100mg straight to 50mg, a drastic reduction that I knew wasn’t safe. Thankfully, I had already educated myself, so I took control of my taper and have followed a much more cautious approach. As a result, I’ve only reduced by 32mg over six months, but with minimal to no withdrawal effects.

I plan to keep you updated on my tapering journey over the coming months. Awareness about safe antidepressant reduction is crucial. With 8 million people in the UK currently taking these medications, a significant number will eventually want to reduce or discontinue them.

Antidepressants change our brains, and tapering slowly allows our brains to adjust gradually, minimising withdrawal symptoms. This is why taking the slow and steady approach feels right for me.

If you're interested in learning more, here are some podcasts I listened to this week that were super interesting:

• Debunking Depression with Professor Joanna Moncrieff

• The truth about coming off antidepressants, with Mark Horowitz