竹端寛（たけばたひろし）

Why do doctors keep people on psychiatric medications for years, sometimes decades? A big part of the answer is one type of study, called a relapse prevention study. The way these studies are designed tells you a lot. A drug company puts a group of people on a drug for about six months. Then half of them stay on it, and the other half are taken off it, either immediately or over about two weeks. The researchers then count how many people in each group become depressed again. When more people in the group that stopped get worse, it’s taken as proof that the drug prevents relapse. The problem is that stopping a psychiatric medication that quickly causes withdrawal, and withdrawal can look a lot like depression. Many of those “relapses” were likely withdrawal. Even so, these studies are a big part of why doctors feel comfortable refilling the same prescription year after year. Withdrawal can also be severe. Coming off a benzodiazepine or an SSRI too quickly after years on it can trigger protracted withdrawal, a nervous system injury that can cause severe anxiety, akathisia, light and sound sensitivity, ringing in the ears, burning pain, and cognitive problems. Every benzodiazepine label in the US warns about it. I see these patients every week in my practice. The good news is that most of them recover within about two years. If you’ve been told your symptoms prove you need to stay on your medication indefinitely, it’s worth asking whether they could be withdrawal. If you’re looking to safely taper off a psychiatric medication, comment TAPER and I’ll send you my free tapering guide. It’s the exact protocol we use with our patients at TaperClinic.