Yes, depression can return after stopping antidepressants, which is referred to as a relapse or recurrence. The risk of relapse is a primary consideration when deciding to stop medication and should be discussed with a doctor.
How long antidepressant withdrawal symptoms last. Withdrawal symptoms usually begin within a few days of starting to come off antidepressants and last for a few weeks. Some people may have more difficulty with withdrawal symptoms. They can be severe for some people, start later and last a lot longer.
It's common for depression symptoms to come back or worsen at some point, even with treatment. This is called breakthrough depression. Symptoms may be triggered by stress or appear with no clear cause.
Tiredness. Irritability. Flu-like symptoms, including achy muscles and chills. Nausea.
Researchers compared rates of relapse in those who continued on antidepressants with those who stopped. They found that people who stopped medication were more likely to relapse. However, more than 4 in 10 people who stopped taking antidepressants had no relapse of their depression.
In time, the brain returns to a normal state after stopping antidepressants. If depressive symptoms do arise and gradually worsen, it's best to consult a psychiatrist or doctor if they don't improve within a few weeks or if they become severe.
The Highest Drug Relapse Rates
There is a consensus that the drugs with the highest relapse rates — rates over 60% — are the following: Opiates. Alcohol. Cocaine/Crack.
The hardest antidepressants to come off are typically those with short half-lives, meaning they leave the body quickly, leading to more intense withdrawal (discontinuation syndrome); prominent examples include Paroxetine (Paxil), Venlafaxine (Effexor), and Fluvoxamine (Luvox), with Venlafaxine often cited for particularly severe withdrawal. In contrast, Fluoxetine (Prozac), with its long half-life, is generally considered the easiest to stop due to its gradual exit from the body.
Antidepressants are a commonly prescribed medication to treat depression and other mental health conditions. They ease symptoms like low mood and fatigue, but they don't treat the direct cause. That's why providers recommend therapy with them.
Antidepressant Discontinuation Syndrome (ADS) Timeline
Symptoms typically begin within 2-4 days following cessation and last 1-2 weeks. However, in rare cases, they may last up to a year.
The evidence clearly shows that recovery is possible and common, but the timeline varies dramatically from person to person. While some individuals experience relief within weeks of discontinuation, others may require months or years to fully regain their emotional range.
For people with chronic or severe depression, medication may be needed on a long-term basis. In these cases, antidepressants are often taken indefinitely. That is, in part, because depression is not an illness that can be cured.
Although depression might only occur once during your life, some people often have multiple depressive episodes. A major depressive episode lasts at least two weeks but can continue for up to a year. An average new episode will not last longer than three months.
Mental Clarity
Some people report positive changes in their thinking and cognitive abilities after stopping antidepressants. This can include improved memory, focus, and mental clarity. However, it is worth noting that taking antidepressants does not commonly affect cognitive abilities in most people.
You may be tempted to stop taking antidepressants as soon as your symptoms ease, but depression can return if you quit too soon.
Withdrawal had lasted longer than a year for 43.3 % of respondents, and for 27.2 % it had lasted longer than two years. Among those who had stopped an antidepressant completely, 49.5 % had had symptoms that persisted for more than a year, 32.2 % for more than two years and 10.7 % for more than five years.
Coming off antidepressants is known to trigger physical symptoms, such as restlessness, fatigue and excessive sweating, but new research suggests people can also experience emotional and social difficulties, and changes in their thinking patterns when they stop taking antidepressants like Prozac.
Doctors often start by prescribing an SSRI. These drugs are considered safer and generally cause fewer bothersome side effects than other types of antidepressants. SSRIs include citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil, Pexeva), sertraline (Zoloft) and vilazodone (Viibryd).
Those who had used antidepressants for >3 years reported more severe side effects, including “weight gain”, “addiction”, “feeling not like myself ”, “withdrawal symptoms”, and “suicidality”, than those who had been on antidepressants for ≤2 years.
The SNRI venlafaxine has been reported to have a higher incidence in withdrawal symptoms after discontinuation when compared to other SNRIs.
The mnemonic FINISH summarizes the symptoms of antidepressant discontinuation syndrome: Flu-like symptoms (lethargy, fatigue, headache, achiness, sweating), Insomnia (with vivid dreams or nightmares), Nausea (sometimes vomiting), Imbalance (dizziness, vertigo, light-headedness), Sensory disturbances (“burning,” “ ...
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
Health care providers often start by prescribing an SSRI . These antidepressants generally cause fewer bothersome side effects and are less likely to cause problems at higher therapeutic doses than other types of antidepressants.
Addiction Relapse Vulnerability
For 1-year outcomes across alcohol, nicotine, weight, and illicit drug abuse, studies show that more than 85% of individuals relapse and return to drug use within 1 year of treatment [2].
The worst results were for patients addicted to fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine or heroin, only 29% to 31% of whom were reachable and not using any non-prescribed substances one year later.
Alcohol. Alcohol is the most regularly used addictive substance in America, with nearly 29 million people aged 12 or older having a past year alcohol use disorder in 2023.