Material about coming off of anxiety meds after long-term use

August 7, 2019 4:54 AM

I’m looking for reading material to support me while I come off SSRIs and Ativan after many years of use. Any science-based books, guidance by therapists, personal essays, etc. would be helpful.

I have already found a lot of great stuff about the immediate withdrawal issues and tapering. I have been in the trenches for a couple months now. So I am mainly looking for material that takes a longer view.

Finally, I confirm that I am working with my doctor on this so no need to worry about that.

Thanks in advance for your kindness.

posted by Shebear to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)

Best answer: There are some good resources on the "Mad in America" website. You can also search PubMed, which is a giant database of articles published in medical journals. PubMed gives you just the abstract, not the full text. But if you find any articles that look promising, you can usually download the full text from Sci-Hub.
posted by alex1965 at 7:11 AM on August 7, 2019

Best answer: The Ashton Manual for the benzo taper.
posted by namemeansgazelle at 7:19 AM on August 7, 2019

Best answer: This beautiful New Yorker article by Rachel Aviv definitely takes a long view of one individual's journey and also provides info on many practical resources like the Ashton Manual.
posted by deeparch at 8:14 AM on August 7, 2019 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Benzo Buddies is a great resource for coming off Ativan (and other benzos).
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 5:13 PM on August 7, 2019

Best answer: If a mere anecdote is helpful, I had no problems tapering and then quitting a prescribed benzo. I took it for several years sometimes multiple times a day. While you are right to be cautious and some people do have a rough time I’m sure, I was fine. So, misery is not a given!
posted by ticketmaster10 at 6:59 PM on August 7, 2019

Best answer: Ativan is notoriously hard to quit. A psychologist I know and had found that replacing it with Klonapin made it easier for some patients to withdraw. He planned to do a study with some colleagues, but it was so hard to find people willing to endure the withdrawal that they weren't able to get a large enough sample. Ativan has a very short half-life, meaning it washes out of the body relatively quickly. If you can replace it with something that leaves the body more slowly, withdrawal won't be as hard (but still not easy).

The same with some antidepressants. Weaning off Effexor (not an ssri) can be horrible for many people. If they switch to Prozac and then wean off Prozac, it can be so gradual that you don't notice until you start being very depressed again.
posted by wryly at 8:38 PM on August 7, 2019