Antidepressant Addiction Treatment 

Yes and no. 

Your GP can work with you on a reduction plan. 

All free to use addiction services in your local area are the responsibility of your local council. 

It is up to them as to who they choose to run their services. 

Sometimes they contract in the NHS to run them. 

Due to the contracts agreed with the NHS, or whomever they contract out the service to, antidepressant addiction treatment is not something they  will fund. 

In general: No. 

With some medications, especially Opioids, over time, your brain will adapt to their presence and change the way it processes them. You will need more and more of the medication to have the same effect as the dose you started with. 

This is known as Tolerance. The same thing happens with Alcohol. 

Research has shown that this, very rarely, happens with Antidepressants. 

Your brain does not become used to Antidepressants as it does with Alcohol or drugs.

The bulk of research shows that long term Antidepressant treatment is relatively safe and effective. 

Furthermore, as many as 5 out of 10 people who quit Antidepressants will see a recurrence of their depressive illness. 

The problem is that the dose was prescribed to deal with the symptoms you had at the time. 

If there is some new stress in your life then the dose may no longer be effective and may need to be adjusted. 

Sometimes, it is prudent to switch to another Antidepressant. 

How this is done, is starting another one while reducing the one you are one. 

For those who have severe depression, it is not uncommon to be prescribed two Antidepressants at the same time. This is known as Californian rocket fuel. 

 

Going Cold Turkey on Antidepressants is very dangerous and as Addiction Clinicians we would never suggest you do this. 

A sudden withdrawal can make you very ill: Both physically and psychologically. 

The brain will start to recognise that you are no longer taking Antidepressants at a rate that is roughly five times as long as it takes for the medication to loose 50% of it’s effectiveness. 

There are many, many different types of Antidepressants so it can vary from a few hours to a few days. 

 While different Antidepressants can cause different withdrawal symptoms, the general symptoms are: 

• Severe flu-like including extreme tiredness, constant headaches and persistent sweating and achiness
• Vivid dreams
• Nightmares
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Dizziness
• Light headedness
• Tingling sensations
• Crashing low mood
• Uncontrollable anxiety 
• Extreme aggression 
• Suicidal thinking/acting out

The problem is that, when you are in withdrawal, your brain tells you what you already know: If you take some Antidepressants you will stop feeling ill. 

When this happens you are likely to take an amount of Antidepressants you think will settle you but are likely, accidentally, to take an overdose. 

  

 

 

Different Antidepressants start to present withdrawal symptoms at different times. 

This is because of the differing ways they work on receptors in the  brain. 

All medications, drugs and alcohol have what is known as a half life. This is the time it takes for the effectiveness of the drug to reduce by 50%. 

Usually, it is five times this period before you will experience any problems. 

As there are many different types of antidepressants there is no single answer to this. 

Ask your pharmacist what the half life of your medication is or call us for free and confidential advice. 

Unlike other medications and alcohol/drugs there are, usually, no distinct phases of Antidepressant withdrawal. 

The one exception are Antidepressants known as SSRI’s and SNRI’s. They tend to present two phases: 

 

• Acute: First 6-8 weeks where you may experience severe flu like symptoms
• Post acute: This can last for several months and can include: 

 

• Headache
• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Electric shock syndrome
• Visual disturbances
• Muscle aches
• Tremor
• Balance issues
• Anxiety 
• Depression 
• Suicidality
• Insomnia
• Sexual dysfunction 
• Brain fog

These can last for up to 37 months

Yes. 

While some people experience only moderate flu like symptoms with some raised anxiety, in extreme cases you can develop delirium and psychosis. 

Left untreated, this can be life threatening. 

Some people become acutely suicidal. 

 

It can take the brain up to 37 months to recover. 

 

 The length of time it takes to withdraw if you stop taking Antidepressants suddenly depends on the following: 

• The Antidepressant you are taking
• How long you have been taking it
• The dose
• Other medication
• Current drug/alcohol use
• Underlying physical and psychological health

It could take a couple of weeks or anything up to a year and a half. 

Withdrawal is everything to do with your brain receptors and nothing to do with willpower or a lack of it. 

 No. 

Due to the way Antidepressants work on receptors, there are no alternative medications you can use to help you taper off. 

The length of time it takes to taper off depends on the following: 

• The Antidepressant you are taking
• How long you have been taking it
• The dose
• Other medication
• Current drug/alcohol use
• Underlying physical and psychological health

It can take many months to safely taper. 

The most effective way is to reduce, at home, working with your GP/Consultant and then come into treatment for the last reduction. 

If you reduce, at home, by working with your GP you can then come into treatment for the last element of withdrawal. 

A 28 day programme costs from £6,975. 

There are no hidden charges. 

This includes: 

• In house clinician
• Nurses/support staff
• Therapists
• Therapy sessions
• Relapse prevention skills workshops
• Aftercare (12 months minimum)

As addiction clinicians we would advise against this unless you have worked very closely with your GP/consultant and they are 100% on board and in agreement. 

You would need to be on the lowest dose and would need to be monitored closely by a home treatment clinician and possibly, visiting specialist nurses. 

We understand that, for some, this is their preference. 

There are clinicians that can provide this service. We can signpost you to one. 

Cost wise, you may find it considerably cheaper to go into rehab. 

This would start from £1,700. 

A home detox for Antidepressant addiction depends, entirely, on: 

• The Antidepressant you are taking
• The dose
• How long you have been taking it for
• How long you have been reducing
• The current dose you have reduced to and how long you have been at that reduced dose

Yes. 

There are a number of centres that provide Antidepressant Addiction Treatment using SMART or an eclectic therapy approach. 

You do not need to go to a 12 STEP based centre. 

Yes. 

There are many rehab centres that use SMART instead of the 12 STEPS for their therapy model. 

Yes. 

There are some rehab centres that use only an individual therapy approach. 

You are not required to attend any group sessions. 

A 7 day admission for Antidepressant Addiction would be the exception to the rule. 

You would need to be on the very lowest dose and have been at that point for sometime. 

It would be up to the in-house clinician to determine if this would be safe. 

There is no such thing as a rapid Antidepressant detox. 

Be extremely wary of anyone advertising such a service. 

Do not attempt this: Under any circumstances. 

A 7 day admission to a rehab/detox centre for Antidepressant Addiction is £1,975. 

 

Most residential rehab centres provide treatment for Antidepressant Addiction. 

Call or email us for a list of suitable centres. 

We only signpost to legally registered services. 

No. 

St John’s Wort acts in a similar way to prescribed Antidepressants. 

All you will do is replace one addictive substance with another. 

You can not cross taper from prescribed medication to St John’s Wort. 

As with other prescribed medication, alcohol and drugs, Antidepressants affect receptors in the brain. 

This is what they were designed to do. They either speed up, slow down, stop and introduce the release of naturally occurring bodily chemicals. 

The problem is, after a time the brain becomes used to them. It changes the way it regulates the release/storage of bodily chemicals as a result. 

Unlike Heroin and alcohol, you don’t need ever increasing amounts to have the same effect. 

However, as with Alcohol, Heroin and Opioids, if you stop taking them the brain will scrabble to adjust. 

While it does, it will fire off incorrect chemical messaging. It is this that causes the symptoms known as withdrawal. 

In extreme cases, it can take the brain 37 months to readjust. 

Addiction is Addiction and Rehab is Rehab. 

A phrase often heard in recovery: Because it is true. 

It doesn’t matter what you are addicted to or how you came to Addiction: The trajectory to recovery is the same: 

• Detox (where needed) 
• Therapy: Addiction is, usually, a symptom of an  underlying issue. If you can deal with that, you are far less likely to return to addiction 
• Relapse prevention: Speaks for itself
• Aftercare: All centres provide a minimum of 12 months post treatment support. This is usually weekly meetings and a dedicated phone number if you need support. 

You can go abroad for Antidepressant Addiction Treatment but, as clinicians, we would never recommend it. 

In the UK you have the assurance that the centre is registered and the staff regulated. 

The treatment will be evidence based and safe. 

If you go abroad you have none of these asssurances. 

Your travel insurance will not cover you if something goes wrong and medical repatriation can cost hundreds of thousands of pounds. 

The British Embassy/High Commission are not going to rescue you. 

Sadly, there have been fatalities because overseas treatment centres tend to use untested/banned treatments such as Ayahuasca and Ibogaine. 

They don’t work. They are not safe and they can cost you your life.

Possibly. 

Most health insurance policies exclude mental health care and nearly all exclude addiction treatment. 

Where you do have cover you normally need a pre-authorisation code from your insurance company. 

Not all centres provide care for insurance cases. 

Please call in for a list that do.