I've managed a whole year without anti-depressants

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In 2011 I sought medical help for depression and started taking anti-depressants.

I took them more or less continuously for 10 years, then in January 2021, the doctor I was seeing at the time decided he didn't want me as a patient any more. Owing to numerous bad experiences with doctors, as well as doctors being few and far between in my country, I decided that after 10 years I'd had enough.

I gradually lowered the dose, suffered with quite a few withdrawal effects (although not as bad as some of the medications I've had), and eventually had my last one in May 2021 .

As soon as I stopped them, my depression symptoms returned. I was tired all the time. I was finding it harder to deal with people. I can't easily concentrate on anything. I lack energy, and spend too long feeling suicidal.

But at least I don't have to deal with my country's useless medical system. Yipee.

Is NHS that bad?
I meet my psychiatrist in a private practice - here, it's possible and commonly practiced to mix private and state-funded healthcare.

Depends on the situation. For emergencies the NHS can often be good. My dad had a motorbike crash ten years ago and they immediately arrived on the scene and sent a air ambulance to pick him up from the field he flopped off his bike in directly to the hospital in a city.

For stuff like mental health they're usually dire. It's probably a bit of a public image issue. Leaving someone dying in a field looks awful on the NHS but mental health is much less "in your face" and can be swept under the rug.

Yes. I've mostly had private care over the last few years, but even that can be very hit and miss. GPs and psychiatrists often don't bother with private work here. Physiotherapists and orthopaedic surgeons however, and you are spoilt for choice.

Well done man!!
I'm in a similar kind of relationship with healthcare where I am. I have realised I don't speak the same reality as medical people. And that's Ok!
I have also got off meds over the last few years. I have learnt other ways of dealing with things. Yes, I self medicate occasionally. It's the least I can do for myself. And learning how to deal with how my body feels has been most important. The body is where all of the past is stored. Working with releasing that has given me more agency and made me feel more stable and happier than I've ever felt before. Sometimes we need to go to medicine. Especially when things are desperate. But after a while of stabilizing things, if you feel like challenging yourself, it may be a good idea to gently wean yourself.
Well done. Stay strong and good luck.

I just thought I'd update this topic...

Its now late 2023 which means I've been off the anti-depressants for over two years now.

Still feeling absolutely horrendous, but at least there's no crappy healthcare system to deal with.

Well done m8. I love our NHS and would happily see National insurance raised to pay for it but it does have its faults.

Mental health treatment on the NHS is known to be terrible. Waiting times of 18 months for talk therapies are not uncommon in some areas.

Not being able to have any medication prescribed for a particular mental health issue is another, since most GP's want you on the cheapest medication possible, even when it doesn't work.

Just wanted to update this thread to say that its now 4 years since I stopped the SSRIs.

I won't say much as I've actually discussed this in other people's threads on the same topic. I'm long since over the worst of the withdrawal symptoms, but I still feel crap a lot of the time.

I am sorry to hear that you are feeling crap a lot of the time.

Depression sucks, man.

Just thought I'd post an update.

Its January 2026 now so that marks 5 years from when the doctor ceased having me as a patient, leaving me with 2 boxes of Citalopram to last me indefinitely. I was very upset at this as I didn't have much access to alternative medical help at the time. So I decided ten years on the tablets was enough.

I hope life isn't treating you too badly nowadays off the meds. I stopped taking SSRIs almost 2 years ago now and I'm very glad I did. I feel no more anxious than I did when I was on them. So I think I recovered from that problem naturally anyway.

Do you have trouble focusing and lose things a lot? Just throwing it out there I have autism and ADHD and antidepressants I tried didn't help because I don't have clinical depresssion....I suffered depression because I have adhd causing me to fail at things making me feel bad about myself and that is why I feel depressed. So for me taking adhd medication actually reduces the depression since it helps me feel more energetic and focus on things I need to do so I can better keep up with the responsibilities that come with being an adult. Cause yeah growing up I felt depressed cause I always felt one step behind my peers and struggled with relationships with people so like yeah I was depressed but it wasn't just my brain making me feel that way, I had no friends and people made fun of me a lot so it was external factors that made me depressed rather than a chemical imbalance.

Glad to hear you managed to come off them. How long were you taking them for? Did you have any withdrawal effects?



Yes, in fact before reading your reply I was really struggling to concentrate on a news article I was otherwise interested in. Then I couldn't concentrate on your reply.

I mostly blame my depression on things like being lonely and isolated, as well as being stuck here with nothing to do. I went to see a friend last weekend but he was the first person I'd spoken to in over a month. This isn't uncommon. When I first started to get depression symptoms when I was a teenager, it was alongside being lonely and having no one to talk to. My mind is very active - but all i've done today is warmed up some already cooked lunch, watched YouTube videos, and had some very long conversations with the non-existent person sat next to me.

Congratulations on making it this far.

I’ve also been off anxiety medication for many years. It worked during the first few months, but then it became ineffective. I’m still anxious, but at least I don’t have to deal with the side effects or withdrawal symptoms. Anxiety isn’t that bad in comparison to my ongoing lack of focus.

The medication made me feel numb, but now I feel alive and my senses are stronger.

It seems most antidepressants induce a suicide fixation in me.
(Bupropion didn't, but 4 hours sleep per week is unsustainable.)
I tapered from my last tricyclic in '23 (worst withdrawals of any pharmaceutical)

I'm sticking with cannabis for my anxiolytic.