Discontinuation of Antidepressant Therapy: Emerging Complications and Their Relevance

Discontinuation reactions are a group of characteristic physical and psychological symptoms that commence shortly after stopping or, less commonly, after reducing the dose of an antidepressant, stated Peter Haddad, M.D. These symptoms are usually short-lived, may be suppressed by reintroduction of the antidepressant, and are distinct from either relapse or recurrence of the primary psychiatric disorder. An antidepressant discontinuation reaction was first reported in 1959 in association with imipramine, but it is now well established that this phenomenon occurs with most antidepressants.