 |
 |
|
|
|
Coming Off Antidepressant Medication in the New Year
Friday, December 30, 2011
Not many people understand, some professionals included, that there is a great need to come off antidepressant medications in a specific way. If not, a variety of physiological and psychological issues may punctuate your experience. This is known as Discontinuation Syndrome and is a real medical syndrome.
So if you're thinking of coming off your antidepressant medication, here's what you can do to prevent or minimize Discontinuation Syndrome: 1) Never stop taking your medications without talking with your prescribing doctor. An open and honest forum can ensure that you come off your dosage in a safe manner. 2) If lowering your dosage, follow your doctor's instructions to-the-letter. 3) If you begin experiencing symptoms of Discontinuation Syndrome, contact your doctor ASAP. You may need to take a higher dosage for a longer period of time before weaning your body off of the medicine completely. 4) If *not* being on medication causes previous depressive symptoms to resume, consider returning back to medication as a long term treatment. There's no shame in having mental illness that requires medication. 5) And if your doctors or therapists have never heard of Discontinuation Syndrome, hit them over the head and drag them to the nearest computer.
Editorial Note: Dr. Deborah Serani is the author of Living with Depression" by The Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group * * * * * * * * * * * For more tips or to schedule an interview with Dr. Deborah Serani contact Sam Caggiula, Publicity Manager at Rowman & Littlefield, Phone: +1-301-459-3366 Email: scaggiula@rowman.com About the author: Dr. Deborah Serani is the author of "Living with Depression," by Rowman and Littleflield. Serani is a go-to expert on the subject of depression whose interviews can be found in ABC News, Newsday, Psychology Today, The Chicago Sun Times, Glamour Magazine, The Associated Press, and affiliate radio station programs at CBS and NPR, just to name a few. Serani has also served as a technical advisor for the NBC television show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Deborah Serani, Psy.D.
Author of "Living with Depression"
info@deborahserani.com
New York, NY
1.631.366.4674
|
|
