Reacción a "The most effective strategy for discontinuing antidepressants is gradual reduction combined with psychological therapy, according to data from more than 17,000 adults"

This is a crucial study given the alarming increase in antidepressant prescriptions and the need to consider strategies for reducing their use. The usual clinical reality is that, after people improve, antidepressant treatment is often continued for months, years, or indefinitely, leading to chronic adverse effects of the medication, exposure to its risks, and brain neuroadaptation that makes stopping the medication difficult. On other occasions, antidepressant treatment is discontinued too abruptly, causing a withdrawal syndrome that is sometimes difficult to differentiate from a clinical relapse, condemning people to 'lifelong' treatment.

The article confirms that gradually reducing antidepressants in conjunction with psychological support is the most effective method for safe deprescribing and minimising the risk of withdrawal syndrome. Gradual dose reduction facilitates the progressive adaptation of neurotransmission systems, and psychological support provides confidence and security in this process, in which the person regains their agency and autonomy, reappropriates their emotions and stops delegating their well-being to a medication.