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When stopping taking antidepressants, the risk of experiencing one or more discontinuation (withdrawal) symptoms such as dizziness, headache, nausea, insomnia and irritability is 15%, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in The Lancet Psychiatry.

The analysis also found discontinuation symptoms that patients describe as severe, and which may have led to patients dropping out of a study or restarting on antidepressants, occurred in about 3% (one in 35) of patients stopping antidepressants.

Dr Jonathan Henssler from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, said, ‘There is strong evidence that antidepressants can be effective for many people who are experiencing a depressive disorder, either alone, or alongside other treatments such as psychotherapy. However, they do not work for everyone, and some patients may experience unpleasant side-effects.

‘Our study confirms that a number of patients coming off antidepressants will experience discontinuation symptoms, and for a few, these will be of a more severe extent. It's important to note that antidepression discontinuation symptoms are not due to antidepressants being addictive. There is a crucial need for all patients stopping antidepressants to be counselled, monitored and supported by heath care professionals. However, our findings, which consolidate data from a large number of studies, should also provide reassurance that rates of discontinuation symptoms are not as high as some previous single studies and reviews have suggested.’