Can you be on antidepressants for life?

Can you be on antidepressants for life?

MYTH: Once on antidepressants, I’ll be on them for life. FACT: Not true. A general rule clinicians often use is that a person should be treated with antidepressants at least one-and-a-half times as long as the duration of the depressive episode before they can begin to be weaned off.

Does your brain go back to normal after antidepressants?

The process of healing the brain takes quite a bit longer than recovery from the acute symptoms. In fact, our best estimates are that it takes 6 to 9 months after you are no longer symptomatically depressed for your brain to entirely recover cognitive function and resilience.

How many pills does the average person take?

Those who use a prescription drug take four, on average, and many also take over-the-counter drugs, vitamins and other dietary supplements, the survey done by Consumer Reports shows.

Do antidepressants cause permanent changes?

Do they cause permanent changes? There is no evidence, and little reason to believe, that the commonly prescribed antidepressant medications cause any permanent changes to the brain or have any persistent side effects.

Can you get rid of depression?

While depression can be treated, and symptoms can be alleviated, depression cannot be “cured.” Instead, remission is the goal. There’s no universally accepted definition of remission, as it varies for each person. People may still have symptoms or impaired functioning with remission.

Do I have to take anxiety medication forever?

General guidelines for treatment suggest that for a first treatment episode, keeping people on medication once they fully respond and are essentially free of symptoms for somewhere around a year or two years seems prudent and reasonable.

Do antidepressants ruin your brain?

We know that antipsychotics shrink the brain in a dose-dependent manner (4) and benzodiazepines, antidepressants and ADHD drugs also seem to cause permanent brain damage (5).

What happens to your body if you take too many pills?

Your heart will start to race, and you might begin sweating. You can easily become confused or disoriented, and you may even lose consciousness. Vomiting and diarrhea are common during a drug overdose, and you won’t control it. Blood in your vomit or your stool are signs of life-threatening complications.

Do pills mess up your liver?

Studies show that more cases of acute liver failure are caused by prescription and over-the-counter drugs (OTC), herbs, and dietary supplements than all other reasons combined. Some don’t show any symptoms, while others cause symptoms to appear.

What happens if you take antidepressants for years?

Long-term antidepressant users are risking permanent damage to their bodies, according to leading medical experts. Dr Tony Kendrick, a professor of primary care at the University of Southampton, says more urgent action needs to be taken to encourage and support long-term users to come off the medication.

Are antidepressants bad for your brain?

There is new reason to be cautious about using popular antidepressants in people who are not really depressed. For the first time, research has shown that a widely used antidepressant may cause subtle changes in brain structure and function when taken by those who are not depressed.

Is depression a permanent condition?