Should I come off my medication if I’m still experiencing depression or anxiety?

In general it is better to come off antidepressants when you are feeling well but there are times when someone may wish to come off of antidepressants even while they are experiencing depression or anxiety. For example:

● You feel that you get no benefit from the drug.

● You are experiencing adverse effects that you feel outweigh any helpful effects

● Your antidepressant conflicts with another medicine or treatment

● You decide you no longer wish to take the drug.

The Canadian guidelines most often used to guide treatment (the CANMAT Guidelines*) recommends that an episode of depression should be treated with antidepressants for 6-9 months after they feel better. People with severe conditions are advised to stay on antidepressant treatment for 2 years after they feel better. For anxiety disorders treatment is generally recommended for 6-12 months.**

It’s important to talk to your healthcare provider about the risks and benefits of stopping antidepressant treatment while still experiencing depression or anxiety, so you can have a plan in place to manage those symptoms.

* https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4994790/

** https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-244X-14-S1-S1#Sec60