Overview

• The JAMA Psychiatry review synthesized data from 50 randomized controlled trials involving nearly 18,000 participants and found that stopping antidepressants produced, on average, one extra discontinuation symptom compared with continuation or placebo.
• Physical effects such as dizziness, nausea, vertigo and nervousness were the most common withdrawal symptoms, with severe cases reported by fewer than 3% of people.
• Authors emphasized that new low mood following discontinuation aligns with illness recurrence rather than a direct withdrawal effect.
• Most trials tracked patients for only two weeks after stopping medication, limiting conclusions about longer-term withdrawal outcomes.
• Critics led by Dr John Read and Dr Mark Horowitz argue that reliance on short-duration, industry-backed studies underestimates harms in long-term antidepressant users and call for extended follow-up research.