These drugs \u2014 the most common of which are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRI) \u2014 are well established as treatments for depression.<\/p>\n
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) recommends consulting a physician after experiencing \u201cfeelings of sadness, despair and hopelessness, or by excessive worry that is hard to control\u201d for more than two weeks. <\/p>\n
But it’s not always clear how long patients should stay on these medications \u2014 and what role therapy can play in the process of going off them safely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although everyone\u2019s case is different, and changes to medication should be handled under close supervision of a doctor, here\u2019s what the experts CBC spoke to for The Dose want you to know about going off antidepressants.<\/p>\n
First, you need to give the medication a chance to work<\/p>\n
According to CAMH, for patients experiencing their first depressive episode, an antidepressant is considered to be working if symptoms improve within two to four weeks, with full remission seen around six to 12 weeks.<\/p>\n
If a patient\u2019s symptoms don\u2019t improve, \u00a0physicians may recommend <\/a>\u00a0a different medication, or combinations of medication and therapy.\u00a0<\/p>\n Psychiatrist Dr. Ishrat Husain is a senior scientist at CAMH in Toronto, who also leads the centre\u2019s mood disorders service.\u00a0<\/p>\n WATCH | Colene Allen shares her own experience getting mental-health support: Campaign encourages people to take the first step toward mental-health support<\/p>\n The Canadian Mental Health Association of Waterloo-Wellington launched their Step One campaign to encourage people to take that first step to get help. Colene Allen works for CMHA Waterloo-Wellington as part of the organization’s campaign. She shared her own experience getting mental-health support.<\/p>\n \u201cThe guidance is to continue it for up to nine months of that person being well on the medication,” Husain told Dr. Brian Goldman, host of The Dose.<\/p>\n Psychologist Joelle LeMoult, an associate professor at UBC and director of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Laboratory there, says cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and exercise can also help in tandem with medication.<\/p>\n As Hamilton psychiatrist Dr. Benicio Frey says, antidepressants do come with side effects, including \u00a0sexual dysfunction or reduced libido <\/a>, \u00a0weight gain <\/a>, \u00a0reductions in bone density <\/a>, as well as \u00a0emotional blunting <\/a>\u00a0where people report being unable to feel strong positive or negative emotions.\u00a0<\/p>\n Other side effects include things like dry mouth, as well as gastrointestinal troubles, says Husain.<\/p>\n He says these side effects tend to be mild and often go away as patients adjust to the medication.<\/p>\n If a patient truly can’t tolerate a medication, a doctor may suggest switching or discontinuing it, but only under medical supervision, says Husain.<\/p>\n Medical supervision is required while tapering off<\/p>\n If a patient responds well to treatment \u2014 and it’s their first episode of depression \u2014 some \u00a0guidelines <\/a>\u00a0suggest physicians taper patients off the medication around six to nine months after they start to feel beneficial effects, watching to make sure the depression doesn’t return.<\/p>\n “If the symptoms don’t recur, they can probably discontinue the medication,” said Husain.\u00a0<\/p>\n LeMoult says she encourages \u201csome form of therapy in order to better prevent relapse should [patients] stop taking the medication \u2026 Even just to give them an idea about what other alternatives there may be.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1765881914_557_default.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1765881914_996_default.jpg\")
<\/p>\n