GoKawiilNHS Researchers Push New Guidelines for SSRI Antidepressant Withdrawal
A body of new research, including work from NHS psychiatry fellow Mark Horowitz, shows that withdrawal from long-term SSRI use is more common and severe than doctors previously acknowledged. Horowitz's own decade-long use of escitalopram ended in panic attacks, dizziness and disorientation when he tried to stop, prompting him to return to the drug purely to escape the withdrawal effects. This evidence is now prompting medical bodies to reconsider guidance on tapering and discontinuing antidepressants.
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For decades SSRIs have been marketed as low-risk, easy-to-stop treatments, shaping prescribing habits and patient expectations worldwide. If withdrawal is as widespread and severe as this research suggests, it could force a major overhaul of tapering protocols, patient counseling, and long-term reliance on these drugs. It also raises uncomfortable questions about how thoroughly the risks of long-term antidepressant use were studied before becoming standard care.
- Long-term SSRI users may face severe, underappreciated withdrawal symptoms when stopping.
- Mark Horowitz's personal experience and research are driving a reassessment of tapering guidance.
- Medical bodies are beginning to change protocols around starting and stopping antidepressants.
Source: newscientist.com — Mike Mariani, 2026-08-27
Published there as: “Doctors are finally learning to manage antidepressant withdrawal”
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