Antidepressant withdrawal treatments are most often given without any substantial medical or lifestyle workup being performed, explanation, or foresight about the realities of antidepressant withdrawal.
Depression can be an expression of impaired hormonal states, vitamin deficiency, dietary factors, low thyroid,failed life aspirations, and other things that may not require psychiatric medicating to attend to.8-12
Do Your Symptoms
Require Antidepressants?
Alternative to Meds has been primarily invested in antidepressant withdrawal for over 17 years. Using holistic approaches to care and recovery, Orthomolecular medicine, and Environmental Medicine, our published evidence demonstrates that over 77% of people discontinuing antidepressant medication and replacing them with a holistic lifestyle perform symptomatically better long-term than they were while medicated.
How Long Does Antidepressant Withdrawal Last?
There are a number of factors that can help determine how long medication withdrawal takes. Consider the following summary and related information that may be useful in planning successful antidepressant withdrawal.
Factors that influence the timeline of antidepressant withdrawal include:
Age
General health
Quality of diet and sleep
Medical conditions
Dosage
How long the antidepressant was used
Abruptness of cessation
Presence of bioaccumulation of toxins
Abruptly stopping antidepressant medications can make the withdrawal phenomena persist far longer than if the reduction were done gradually. This is because the changes that medication imposed upon the neuroplasticity of the brain and CNS need adequate time and supportive therapeutics to come back to normal.
New research shows an exceptional range of benefits from self-generated strategic improvements in neuroplasticity. These can include lifestyle interventions or revamping the daily diet, that can be far more effective than simply taking a drug to do it for you.41
Fascinating research published in the 2013 Frontiers in Psychology Journal reveals a study where older adults who took 4 months of piano lessons and daily practice experienced a decrease in depression symptoms, induced greater positive moods, greater cognitive ability, improved executive capacity, improved divided attention skills, and many other benefits.42
In general, antidepressant withdrawal might take weeks to months to accomplish and is best done with supporting therapeutics, strategic lifestyle interventions, adequate rest and nutrition, getting rid of a toxic body burden, and very gradual reductions to ease the process.
Treating Root Causes — An Investigative Approach to Depression Treatment
Antidepressant withdrawal can be problematic. People are often put on an antidepressant before any substantial investigative medical effort is made as to why they are depressed or unable to sleep.17 In fact, the National Institute of Mental Health as of 2013 is pulling research funding away from using the DSM diagnostic categories because “the manual doesn’t provide any data or evidence about the cause of mental illnesses, including depression.”13 Very few psychiatrists do any medical lab testing at all.14
Are depressed people really low on serotonin, and even if so, is that the only reason why? What about medical reasons like low thyroid? What about the accumulation of environmental neurotoxins such as heavy metals that destroy energy metabolism and the immune system, cause depression, mood disturbances, and impair cognitive function? These symptoms of toxic exposure are often misdiagnosed, and neurotoxin removal is virtually ignored. That is why it is such a fundamental part of the antidepressant withdrawal program at Alternative to Meds Center.15,39
Other issues can also aggravate antidepressant withdrawal. Often overlooked, food allergies can lead to internal inflammation and swelling, This may slow metabolism, resulting in a host of possible negative outcomes, including lack of energy. Slow metabolism means a sluggish energy level. A 2019 study in the Journal of Affective Disorders studying over 11,000 Japanese participants found that food allergies a risk factor for depression and severe psychological distress.16
The Importance of Diet for Mental Wellness
An individual may have a diet that is so poor in nutrients that they cannot create what is needed for brain health. 18 A diet that is poor in nutrients does not include the essential raw ingredients needed for optimal brain health. We often forget that our brain is subject to the same repercussions from a poor diet that the rest of our body would suffer from. Then again, perhaps a person may just be immersed in an unfulfilling life and needs a supportive environment to make healthy changes.
Many people start taking medications after an emotionally traumatic experience and then several years later they are still taking the medication. By conservative figures, 20% of antidepressant users experience antidepressant discontinuation syndrome struggling with antidepressant withdrawal symptoms if they attempt to stop taking their medication.19 Many antidepressant users are bothered by side effects and may attempt to discontinue their medication without professional help. It may be confusing as to which symptoms are from withdrawal, and which may indicate a relapse, as these symptoms can overlap.1
Is the Answer to Antidepressant Withdrawal More Drugs?
Getting off antidepressants at home unsupported is rarely ever a pleasant experience. We have tools including natural neurotransmitter support to make the process much easier to endure. The majority of facilities will actually switch antidepressants, or provide multiple prescription drugs, along with minimal counseling, provide inadequate nutritional support, and sometimes even counterproductive diet choices. This is NOT the path that leads to success in antidepressant withdrawal.
15 Years Experience by Professionals Who Understand Your Journey.
Additionally, accumulations of environmental toxins over time may take an enormous toll on both physical and mental well-being.5,6,7 This toxic burden places a strain on the body’s ability to metabolize and produce energy.15 This underlying factor can complicate antidepressant withdrawal. Heavy metals are linked to a number of commonly reported symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, and insomnia. Accumulated heavy metals can be removed from the body gently and effectively using the protocols in our program. Take a look at the below list of common adverse reactions to mercury and other toxins, commonly present in our food.
Top 6 reactions to toxins (like mercury, aluminum) often resulting in a prescription for antidepressants, 35-38 include these:
Anxiety
Mood swings, i.e., irritability, impulsiveness
Depression
Numbness
Tremors
The risk of Alzheimer’s increased by 71% after exposure to aluminum.*
* “Aluminum and amyloid-beta are intimately woven in the neuropathology,” according to the lead investigator of a recent study on Alzheimer’s and aluminum, Christopher Exley, Ph.D., out of Keele University in Staffordshire, UK.
Why does a person experience antidepressant withdrawal symptoms?
Even if the person was not serotonin deficient in the first place, rat and humanized mice studies have shown that SSRIs can potentially create a serotonin deficiency.20,21 The SSRIs and SNRIs do not create serotonin, they block the reuptake.22 This is so the nerve cell can use it again. It is a conservative process. When serotonin is forced to stay out in the nerve space (synapse), it may cause the brain to slow down natural production. This may contribute to the symptoms seen during antidepressant withdrawal. So of course when you take away the drug, there may be a serotonin plunge even if serotonin deficiency was not the original cause of the depression.23
It is similar to how cocaine only combats depression for a short time. Cocaine spends all the dopamine, it does not create it.24 Dopamine is the reward neurochemical and when a person first takes cocaine, everything is rewarding. At some point, however, all of the dopamine is exhausted and nothing holds value or reward for the person. Serotonin is an inhibitory agent as it inhibits stimulus from our environment. It also reduces compulsive behavior and thinking 25 and creates the sleep neurohormone, melatonin.26 When a person is in antidepressant withdrawal they are likely to suffer over-stimulation, anxiety, sleeplessness, brain zaps, OCD, movement disorders, or similar types of symptoms.27,28 This may be because of an antidepressant-induced serotonin deficiency.
The lab testing we do helps deepen our understanding of the underlying causes of depression or other symptoms. With these tools, we can provide a customized diet and nutrition as well as offer individual and group counseling. Medical professionals design and oversee personalized treatment protocols for each resident based on their unique biochemistry, medical assessment, and lab test results.
How can antidepressant withdrawal syndrome be overcome?
Never abruptly stop taking antidepressant medications as it can be injurious to do so, especially if the drugs were taken for more than a few days or weeks.
At Alternative to Meds Center, we use many support strategies to aid the gradual and gentle process of reduction or tapering medication, to avert these harsh reactions.
To combat symptoms during antidepressant withdrawal and discontinuation, we provide targeted nutrients that will actually assist the production of serotonin and other neurochemicals.
We also seek to help remove those poisons that would debilitate the neurochemistry from achieving balance, like pesticides,29 through safe chelation of heavy metals.30 We call this poison removal process neurotoxin removal.
Counseling can help a person change reactions to life events, or help to restructure habitual self-sabotage or other factors that may have led to a lingering depressed state. Combined with nutrition, cleansing, physical exercise, relaxation therapies, and other techniques, such strategies can create lasting success allowing a person to be happy and medication-free. We also offer many complementary and holistic healing services that help to make this process as comfortable as possible. Our medical professionals oversee the personalized treatment plan of each client in a luxury residence facility.
Integrated Holistic Care to get off Antidepressants
Alternative to Meds Center determines the medical reasons why a person might be depressed, anxious, or unable to sleep. Our program uses an integration of several approaches. Lab testing gives an overall snapshot of vital information. Natural substances are utilized to stabilize neurochemistry based on the principles of orthomolecular medicine. Detoxification methods are employed to rid the body of accumulated environmental neurotoxins such as the ones that showed up in the lab testing. Using a wide array of these and other services, the center provides personalized antidepressant withdrawal help that goes much deeper than simply stopping the drug. You can find out about other protocols on our services page, such as IV and NAD therapies, correction of diet, colon hydrotherapy, nebulized glutathione treatments, acupuncture, equine-assisted therapy, peer support programs, yoga, Qi Gong, massage, trainer-led exercise, counseling in various genres, life coaching, art therapy, and many other holistic therapies to combat depression, anxiety, and insomnia.2
Alternative to Meds Center does much more than alleviate antidepressant withdrawal. We search for and correct the underlying causes of depression. The goal is vibrant, natural, mental health.
Antidepressant withdrawal responds extremely well to our methods. Results can usually be accomplished within our 8-week program. If the medication is still somewhat effective for the individual and it is the antidepressant withdrawal process that is problematic, targeted nutritional treatment could have a significantly positive effect in many situations. If the individual is no longer responding well to the medication, it is probable that neurochemical bankruptcy and toxic impairment are occurring. This is correctable in most cases.
The methods we employ allow individuals to get off antidepressants and expedite the process of antidepressant withdrawal. This is assisted greatly by alleviating the majority of withdrawal effects. With corrective techniques targeted at the cause of depression, antidepressant discontinuation and sustained stability are not just a possibility, this outcome is a reality. Many staff members at Alternative to Meds Center have had similar experiences. With proper treatments, they have been able to overcome and reach a place of genuine recovery and renewed health. If you or someone you care about is not receiving adequate relief from antidepressants, call Alternative to Meds Center and get the guidance you have been waiting for, and start planning your own journey of antidepressant withdrawal.
Do Antidepressant Drugs Raise Serotonin?
Only the body itself creates serotonin molecules. Drugs do not create new neurochemicals. However, antidepressants are thought to “work” by affecting the transmission (speeding up or slowing) of chemicals in the brain and the body. Antidepressants target natural chemicals such as serotonin, adrenaline, and others.31 Advertising tends to promote these drugs as agents that can elevate serotonin levels in the brain and thereby raise a depressed mood. This implies that a depressed person was deficient in serotonin. This theory has been followed by many, but remains questionable in reality, according to the latest clinical research.42
It is important to understand that even if a person was not deficient in serotonin in the first place, SSRI medication maycreate a deficiency in serotonin as demonstrated in rat and mice studies, including genetic variances.20,21 This feature is likely associated with antidepressant withdrawal symptoms. Serotonin is a chemical that dampens or inhibits stimulus that comes in from our environment, producing a sensation of relaxation and calmness.32 Neurotransmitters, like hormones, affect behavior, and our response to the environment.3
Do ANY Drugs Increase Serotonin?
Antidepressants, whether SSRIs, SNRIs, or other medications, do not produce additional serotonin. These drugs act by blocking available serotonin from being transmitted (as is meant to happen). These serotonin molecules remain trapped and unable to be transmitted. So, due to enzymes responding to their presence, they will eventually degrade into a non-usable waste product. This serotonin plunge may be a large part of the symptomatology of antidepressants that can develop over time. These mechanisms would apply also to the symptoms that emerge during antidepressant withdrawal.
This temporary entrapment or accumulation can create an augmentation in mood. This may be considered similar to the way cocaine uses dopamine to produce a temporary high. But the body’s neuro-adaptive process often adjusts to the presence of the antidepressant over time, which can down-regulate (decrease efficiency) one’s neurochemistry.33
It is important to note, that in the presence of analogs (synthetic chemicals), the body slows the production of its own natural chemicals. This also causes alterations and mechanical dysfunctions that can affect the receptors as well.34 Drugs affect the CNS In other compensatory ways as well. Antidepressants interfere with the intricate networks along which neurotransmitters are transmitted, increasing or decreasing the sensitivity of the receptor cells.4
Antidepressants and Overprescription
It is not uncommon for a person to suffer some trauma, loss, or other situational distress for which antidepressants are prescribed. Yet, several years later it may well be that the person is still taking the antidepressants, unable to stop taking them without severe antidepressant withdrawal effects. Perhaps the person may be experiencing an unfulfilling life. Or, one may need a more supportive environment so that healthy changes can be considered, planned, and put into actuality. These areas can be addressed effectively in the various forms of therapy we provide.
When a person is struggling in the midst of such a number of negative factors, the side effects of the antidepressant drugs themselves can add another significant burden. But attempting to quit taking antidepressants without taking into account the wider range of causal factors can often lead to failure. This is because the antidepressant withdrawal process is simply too uncomfortable to manage much else at the same time. This is why trying to quit taking antidepressants without help often proves too much of a challenge, and can end in hopelessness and getting back on antidepressants.
Residential Antidepressant Withdrawal Treatment
Alternative to Meds Center provides a relaxing, luxury-styled, retreat-like facility for those who wish to accomplish the task of getting off antidepressant medications. The center provides a safe place to address and overcome antidepressant withdrawal symptoms. In a comfortable, pleasant, and nurturing setting, important investigative work can begin. The goal includes isolating the factors that need to be brought in balance to attain better overall health. Doing so offers a sustainable, comfortable path toward medication reduction. Total elimination is possible in the vast majority of cases. Offering a customized diet, nutritional support,neurotoxin removal, individual counseling, personalized care management, and peer support make powerful tools for recovery.
The lab testing that is done helps to understand the potential underlying causes of depression and other negative symptoms that one wishes to be rid of. Using the lab results, medical professionals can design a personalized treatment plan. Each client’s plan is based on the person’s unique medical assessment and biochemistry.
Using the protocols described above, we can help individuals to expedite the withdrawal from antidepressants without suffering the majority of the usual adverse effects associated with medication withdrawal.
Antidepressant Withdrawal at Alternative to Meds Center
Corrective techniques as described are focused on eliminating the causal factors of depression so that coming off antidepressants can be accomplished much more comfortably and usually within our 8-week-long programs.
Many of the staff members at the center have had their own personal experiences with antidepressant withdrawal. With effective and insightful treatment, they have successfully overcome these challenges. Better methods mean better health outcomes. Our medical team and staff are well-trained in their various disciplines of therapy. Their compassion and understanding underscore this expertise. They are passionate about providing meaningful and effective assistance to individuals who are seeking freedom from medication, as well as freedom from depression and other unwanted symptoms, without drugs.
Our goal is to help the individual create lasting and sustainable success, in a state of being medication free. Our numerous holistic healing services help make this process a reality. Contact us for more information and find out if Alternative to Meds Center has the antidepressant withdrawal program you or a loved one could benefit from today.
7. Hong Y, Kim Y, Lee K, “Methylmercury Exposure and Health Effects.” J Prev Med Public Health, 2012 Nov; 45(6): 353–363. Published online 2012 Nov 29. [cited 2022 July 29]
10. Claudio N Soares†, Shauna Dae Phillips Hormones in the Treatment of Depression Women’s Health, Volume: 2 issue: 3, page(s): 435-445 Issue published: May 1, 2006. [cited 2022 July 29]
18. Update and Critique of Natural Remedies as Antidepressant Treatments Obstet Gynecol Clin North Am. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2010 Dec 1. Published in final edited form as: Obstet Gynecol Clin North Am. 2009 Dec; 36(4): 789–807. David Mischoulon, MD, PhD [cited 2022 July 29]
22. What has serotonin to do with depression? World Psychiatry. 2015 Jun; 14(2): 158–160. Published online 2015 Jun 4. Philip J Cowen and Michael Browning [cited 2022 July 29]
This content has been reviewed and approved by a licensed physician.
Dr. Samuel Lee
Dr. Samuel Lee is a board-certified psychiatrist, specializing in a spiritually-based mental health discipline and integrative approaches. He graduated with an MD at Loma Linda University School of Medicine and did a residency in psychiatry at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. He has also been an inpatient adult psychiatrist at Kaweah Delta Mental Health Hospital and the primary attending geriatric psychiatrist at the Auerbach Inpatient Psychiatric Jewish Home Hospital. In addition, he served as the general adult outpatient psychiatrist at Kaiser Permanente. He is board-certified in psychiatry and neurology and has a B.A. Magna Cum Laude in Religion from Pacific Union College. His specialty is in natural healing techniques that promote the body’s innate ability to heal itself.
Lyle Murphy is the founder of the Alternative to Meds Center, a licensed residential program that helps people overcome dependence on psychiatric medication and addiction issues using holistic and psychotherapeutic methods.
Medical Disclaimer: Nothing on this Website is intended to be taken as medical advice. The information provided on the website is intended to encourage, not replace, direct patient-health professional relationships. Always consult with your doctor before altering your medications. Adding nutritional supplements may alter the effect of medication. Any medication changes should be done only after proper evaluation and under medical supervision.
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Medication Withdrawal Success Stories
Can you imagine being free from medications, addictive drugs, and alcohol? This is our goal and we are proving it is possible every day!
