Over a quarter of people currently on these medications have been taking them for a decade or longer. Some people feel a significant benefit and would not dream of cutting back or stopping. Increasingly, though, many people are wondering about the road ahead. How long should a person stay on antidepressants?
The problem is that we don’t know very much about the effectiveness, or the impact, of these drugs over the long term. Since most studies track patients for only a year or two, we just don’t know enough about their long term effects. A recent ‘meta-analysis’—which combines data from many different studies and analyzes these data using a uniform method—shows that in the general population, anti-depressant use significantly increases the risk of mortality. See a link to the paper here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28903117/
Yet, for many patients, going off an antidepressant is a scary prospect. Relapses can occur. On the other hand, over 30% of people on antidepressants report that they experience occasional relapses even while taking the medications. Furthermore, the ‘discontinuation’ effects of anti-depressants—the symptoms some people get when they go off the drugs—can mimic an attack of depression and anxiety.
If you are considering going off anti-depressants, have a serious talk with your doctor. Many general practitioners and psychiatrists will be supportive if it seems an appropriate step. The process should be slow and gentle. It should only be undertaken under the care of a physician.
One of the most ‘famous’ advocates of anti-depressants, Lauren Slater, is a psychologist and an amazing, gifted writer. She was an influential in the creation of the 1980s cultural movement sometimes called the Prozac Generation—in which we became the biggest consumers of mood altering drugs in the history of the world. Now 30 years later, she is wondering about her legacy:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/apr/01/the-drugs-that-changed-our-minds-lauren-slater-review
