To provide one additional anecdote: I came off escitalopram with no taper after taking it for about five years (10mg). I got brain zaps for a while, got very irritated at times, but largely was fine after a few weeks. Not downplaying the withdrawal effects for some people, but they’re not as catastrophic as this article suggests for many (perhaps most).

And overall I’m very glad I took it! It got me through a rough patch, and seems (in combination with therapy, and some life changes) to have rewired me a little. Symptoms I had for a decade prior have not returned. And I’m not sure I could have made those life changes without it.

Sadly my arachnophobia came back though. Oh well.

It can be catastrophic if one is managing family life, kids, taking them to and from activities on top of one’s own work. Then come misc stresses like tax returns, some expensive home repair, etc. Also dealing with depression without the anti-depressant. Switching mental health medication is no fun.

I am glad your experience was tolerable but it’s a whole arc and everyone’s tolerance + circumstances are unique which makes it all the more challenging (even for doctors).

I also went cold turkey from escitalopram about a decade ago, and my experience was not as tame as yours; my ideation kicked into 6th gear, with paranoia, nausea, and insanely intense and vivid dreams every night. That was while on a 10mg dose.

I have been on over-max-dose venlafaxine for nearly a year now. I think it has been an enormous improvement in my life on nearly every axis, but if I miss a dose by even a few hours I get zaps, confusion, and dizziness. What happens to me now if I become unable to access my meds for more than a couple of days really keeps me up some nights.

Withdrawal effects, like the beneficial effects, are highly individual. I had no withdrawal effects from escitalopram after being on it for a couple of years but I know people who’ve had the issues described in the article.

This isn’t a one size fits all area of medicine.

It's been years since, but I too had brain zaps coming off of it. It took a few months for those to go away.

I tried to describe it to my doctor and he seemed like he never heard of it before and sort of look at me like I was crazy, or at least that is what I sensed. But I ended up researching online and found it was a thing that happens.

Same experience early this year but I did halve the dosage to 5mg for a month, which was of near zero difference. But the full withdrawal? Oh man it is no joke.

Is it possible for phobias to be treated with antidepressants or other medications? I need to look into this

I tried to come off Trintellix. 4 weeks was fine. 5th week immense thoughts of doom. Had to take Xanax to bridge it kicking in again.

Good news, exposure therapy is quite effective for arachnophobia and is the first-line treatment. SSRIs do not have the same level of supporting evidence, and the effects are not as durable.

What seems most broken is that medicine apparently didn't have a great way to predict which group you’d fall into, or much of a plan for the people who had a really bad time stopping. Also, RIP the anti-spider benefits