“Could you share any articles or personal accounts describing other people’s experiences with antidepressant withdrawal
I am 19 years old. I used antidepressants for a total of 2 years and 6 months for GAD (generalized anxiety disorder) and SAD (social anxiety disorder). At one point, I even used doses above the usual maximum range; I went up to 120 mg of paroxetine. (While some people can have strong effects even at 20 mg, my situation was different.)
The process started like this: I began tapering off paroxetine (Paxil, Paxera) by reducing the dose by 10 mg. During the first 3 weeks, I experienced very severe withdrawal symptoms. After that, I struggled with waves of symptoms. Especially when waking up in the morning, I would tremble with intense fear and experience cold sweats. I also experienced involuntary ejaculation during sleep. I had a nightmare that I called an “antidepressant nightmare”; I only had it once, but I still cannot forget it.
Now I feel like I may be reaching the final stages of stopping antidepressants. I have noticed that the anxiety-reducing effect of the medication is starting to fade. Normally, I am not very afraid of darkness at home, but right now I feel more fear than usual. At the same time, I feel that my mind is becoming clearer.
Can someone who has gone through this process explain what stage I might be in right now? My guess is that as the effects of the medication completely wear off, my anxiety level will increase and return to the level it was at before I started taking medication. My mind may become even clearer, and eventually I may return to normal.
I have used antidepressants during three different periods of my life. My first use started when I was 10 years old and lasted about 6 months. Later, I used them again when I was 13 years old and continued for approximately 1 year. However, I do not remember those periods very clearly because I was very young.
If I buy a limited quantity (less than 3.5 grams) of dried magic mushrooms, can I propagate them?
I took Prozac for the first time, and after 3 weeks, I felt the "high" (antidepressant effect), so to speak. I became derealized, but my fear also decreased. I clearly remember running to the toilet at night (I was 18). Then, while studying for a literature exam, I noticed my memorization skills were weakening, I was becoming dumber, I was wandering aimlessly, my head felt frozen, and I felt pressure. But I continued using it for 2 years and 2 months, then I reduced it for 4 months and stopped with 10 mg of paroxetine on May 19th, a total of 71 days. My main question is: did you also experience these symptoms intensely? Please don't say this to criticize the medication; be objective. It was a really big mistake for me. People call it brain fog, but I think it's much more than that.
Is psilocybin superior to traditional antidepressants in terms of potency?
What are the methodological limitations of this research, and are the results generalizable?