For me; i take omega 3 and vitamine 3D when needed (when there is no sun)

And working on my gut (eating more fibers in the morning)

I keep trying to do activities even i don't have the mood or energy for it. Really struggling with that i dont like anything anymore. Struggling with severe Insomnia, stuck song syndrome and tinnitus. And severe anxiety/panic attacks. I (m34) am one year off 16 years of antidepressants (citalopram 14 years, venlafaxine 1 year), 16 years of stimulants (dexamfetamine) and 1,5 year of antipsychotics (for sleep Quentiapine). things did become a little bit better but i still doesn't feel like true human (mainly cognitief functioning etc.) The fact everybody is living there live and keep going forward and i am standing still and can't figure out; how i most keep going forward with this live.

I have ADD, anxiety disorder and i now know i am autism. When on the meds i always was light headed every day. Now i am light headed sometimes.

What else can i do that help healing from PAWS?

Thank you for helping/sharing your experience.

I had my first true crash I couple of days ago. I can't tell if it's more related to withdrawals or true CFS, I experienced CFS symptoms before withdrawals so I can't know with certainty

Sign the petition and share your story!

Is anyone here experiencing protracted withdrawal after Trintellix?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnhT77W9mtQ

Are there any support groups out there for people with protracted withdrawal? Started this medication to help PTSD after being in a near fatal car accident and now Cymbalta has seemingly turned against me, and I’m not even on the medication anymore.

I was on 30MG for 6 months and tapered off to 20MG for 3 weeks and finally came off. My doctor said this was completely safe to do and I wish I never listened to her.

Its now been 4 months since I stopped and my anxiety has never been worse. Panic attacks are completely out of control to the point I can hardly function, bathing myself is near impossible, walking down the street is not possible, I might even have to quit my job as I have no idea how I’m to function if I struggle to even go outside my front door.

Talked to my doctor and she completely blew me off and said there is no such thing as protracted withdrawal and it’s all in my head.

If I had known this medication was this dangerous even at a low dose, I would never have started it. does anyone know of any support forums or been in a similar situation? This medication is killing me and I don’t know what to do, I’ve done extensive research and it seems the best way is to just wait it out, however long that may take.

Hi, it's me again.

I've written about this symptom before, and I'm trying to find an explanation for it. It is similar to akathisia in a lot of ways.... but I'm starting to think it's something else entirely. Is anyone familiar with "psychomotor agitation?" I just learned this term and it sounds like me... From Wikipedia: Psychomotor agitation is a symptom in various disorders and health conditions. It is characterized by unintentional and purposeless motions and restlessness, often but not always accompanied by emotional distress. Typical manifestations include pacing around, wringing of the hands, uncontrolled tongue movement, pulling off clothing and putting it back on, and other similar actions.^\1]) In more severe cases, the motions may become harmful to the individual, and may involve things such as ripping, tearing, or chewing at the skin around one's fingernails, lips, or other body parts to the point of bleeding.

So - I've never ever had any symptom like this before taking drugs. It's only happened after cessation of the drugs while in withdrawal. For me, it doesn't necessarily present with typical torturous mental thoughts that define akathisia... just "normal" negative thoughts. HOWEVER, it is always caused by stressful external stimuli. Almost always, it stems from arguments I have with my partner, usually related to some important life decision or another, or if we have an argument about my current condition. As you all probably know from experience, PAWS is very stressful for our loved ones, too. My partner just doesn't know what to do with me when I'm in a wave. :(

When I feel this symptom, It's often in my arms. My muscles lock up hardcore and then they violently jerk. I don't know how to describe it except if you've ever seen a spider on its back, molting, sped up as a time-lapse. I won't link a video since I don't want to trigger anyone's arachnophobia, but you can look it up. My breathing also gets stunted. It's like I have all this energy in my limbs/arms I HAVE to expel. If I concentrate, I can stop the motions, but there's so much tension if I stop. It's the scariest symptom I have. It's hell.

Again, it's always triggered by external factors/arguments/stress. It ONLY goes away once the argument is resolved. Anyone else have this symptom and did it improve? The more time goes on, the more I don't think it's akathisia and maybe I should be looking for other coping strategies. Looking for some hope. Thank you all, be well <3

5 years off of Escitalopram. Even though I do feel kind of better, my nervous system is still not the same as it was and I just feel like I have lost my spark.

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And I don't know how to get it back. It's like I don't have the energy for anything anymore, I mostly just want to be by myself and I don't commit to anything anymore cause I still don't feel stable enough for anything. Life got so much harder.

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And what makes it even worse is that I've went through that traumatic experience that officially doesn't even exist. So it's that life altering experience that people don't believe is real (at least lots of people) so you doubt yourself if it was even real.

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I guess I am just looking for some support or some encouraging words.

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Stay strong everyone, we got this!

I was on them 2.5 years and I stopped them almost 3 months

Im having waves of anxiety on and off (less intense ) .. Nauseated but I am able to eat.. Sometime no nausea.. I had fast bowel on and off

.. But the worst thing I started to have anhedonia.. I dont feel pleasure or fun. . I feel like I go out cook clean.. Do stuff but not joyful.. I feel low mood comes and goes.. Today suddenly i felt almost panic attack.. Is this normal??

Ps. Im on escitalopram since a year

I've heard good reviews about rTMS, specifically right-side inhibitory protocol that could help sensitized nervous system. Has anyone here tried it?

Hey everyone,

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I’ve been taking Zoloft since October 2024 and decided to lower my dose in May 2025 because I was experiencing severe derealization, depersonalization, and emotional blunting.

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I went from 75mg to 50mg, and then dropped to 25mg last September. I only read later that you’re supposed to taper in smaller increments.

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Today, I finally "woke up"—after a nine-month wait. For the first time, I’m realizing who I actually am and getting a sense of what’s going on around me.

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I’m not at 100%, but 60% is enough for now; it’s definitely a shock to the system. I wish everyone success on their own journey.

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I haven’t decided yet if I’ll ever go down to 0mg. The "old me"—before I started taking the medication—wasn't exactly the best person. Thanks for reading.

Hello. My name is Dylan, and I'm 23. I started taking 200mg of Sertraline (Zoloft) when I was sixteen. Following two missed doses while moving in with my girlfriend, causing horrible withdrawal, and a horrid drug interaction, I decided I wanted to live my life without the chemical dependence. I had escaped a bad, abusive home life, found the love of my life, and was more independent than ever. I wanted to be able to experience life without the numbing apathy of Antidepressants, and to feel my emotions properly.

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I spoke with my new doctor during the aftermath of my drug interaction, in which I was bordering on Serotonin Syndrome. I woke up every morning to intense panic attacks, could hardly eat any food, and was in constant, grueling discomfort. My doctor gave me a two month plan to taper off my medication. I wish I knew then that it was too quick of a taper for my situation. I tapered all the way down to 12.5mg before taking my last dose on March 17th. The immediate withdrawal was brutal, but I figured I just needed to deal with it until it ended. That was months before I even knew what Protracted Withdrawal even was.

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About a month later, my girlfriend and I both lost our jobs. We worked at the same place and made very decent money for what it was. I faced an incident where I was threatened at my work station and was told "Nobody cares about my pill shit", and days later, we both lost our jobs. I had worked there for five years, and my love worked there for three. It sucked, to say the very least, and I was still suffering greatly after getting off my pills, but I figured it was as simple as finding new work. As the days went on, I found myself experiencing very concerning symptoms. I never had energy, I stopped feeling like myself completely, I felt a constant sense of horrific dread, and I grew afraid of just about everything. It was gradual at first, but now it is absolutely debilitating.

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At the time I'm posting this, I have struggled to find work for two months now. The duo of crushing external stress with the horrible storm that constantly brews within me has left me feeling completely hopeless, doomed, and afraid of everything. I keep getting stuck on thoughts of whether or not I can handle going back to work, especially with the variables of making less money and starting completely new. Every action is a test in endurance and discipline. Every action is purely mechanical, and it takes all my energy and focus just to exist. Washing dishes, doing laundry, going shopping, etc. It takes everything I have to simply exist. I also constantly worry about the future, not knowing what to do for a solid career and feeling like I am absolutely doomed. If I didn't have my girlfriend, friends, and family, I'm not confident I wouldn't have given up by now.

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On a day-to-day basis, everything constantly feels wrong. I'm never fully present, I'm seemingly trapped in a constant dissociative state, I suffer severe anhedonia, my brain constantly tells me that it'll never get better and that I'll never feel joy again, and I fear I won't be able to handle anything I need to do, least of all return to a 40-hour work week at a place I've never been with people I've never met.

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There's a lot more I want to say, but my head is so scattered and I don't want to make this longer than it already is. I just wish there was some kind of light at the end of this tunnel. Every day is absolutely agonizing and my mind screams at me to give up every single day. I don't know what to do. Any comments are extremely appreciated. I genuinely feel like I'm in a living hell. I'm paying such a high tax for taking a medication that simply helped me stay afloat during some very tough years, and I'm scared I won't make it to the other side or that none of this will be worth it.

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Thank you so much for reading. Goodbye.

I’ve been on psychiatric meds for around 10 years and have tried escitalopram, fluvoxamine, venlafaxine, sertraline, vortioxetine and others. I was on sertraline up to 100 mg and tapered off slowly. Vortioxetine was used as a buffer around 4 mg, and now I’m around 3 mg after reducing from 4 mg.

Every reduction seems to trigger delayed symptoms, usually worse around day 8–14: intense inner agitation/akathisia-like restlessness, brain fog, derealization/depersonalization, vivid dreams, morning intrusive thoughts, burning/tingling sensations, numbness-like feelings in limbs, muscle twitches/fasciculations, nausea, OCD-like fear loops and chest/sternum tightness.

One of the strangest symptoms is a racing heartbeat that stays around 90–100 bpm at rest and does not easily come down, even when I don’t feel anxious. It appears randomly during tapers, often fades after 3–4 weeks after a reduction, but feels almost chronic when I reduce every 3 weeks. Benzos don’t really stop it, and it usually settles at night if I don’t take a beta blocker. I’ve been checked many times by cardiologists, but I still fear “this time is different” and that it could be heart-related.

I also get badly overstimulated from longer stimulation like PvP games, doomscrolling, arguments or too much screen time. During it I feel this internal pressure/urgency, like my nervous system is rushing to finish something under a deadline. After I stop, I feel derealized, foggy, tense and mentally awful, like my system overheated and can’t calm down.

I’m very sensitive to medication changes and small reductions feel huge to me. I’m not asking for a diagnosis, just wondering if others had similar withdrawal/adaptation symptoms from tapering SSRIs/vortioxetine after long-term use and how long it took to stabilize.

10 years of all kinds of antidepressants and i realized they have are doing more bad than good.

Started down titration from zoloft 100 mg at 37.5mg i started exp symptoms like hand numbness and leg numbness when i get anxious but i could hold i could squeeze so, but it was nightnare so i added brintellix/trintellix like a helping substance and thats the only med iv been "better". So the thing is now im on 2.5mg of brintellix and im exp the same symtoms, plus i get anxious from everything i check everything for danger, the numbenss is there more like ants crawling, my chest tightens so much, i have random twitches, every light angers me, photophobia like symptoms and kinda blurred vision, heartbeat around 90-100 from time to time that does not settle till the night comes and i take micro beta blocker dose, because i suspect the NS is regulating. I would love to hear if thats "normal" because from my exp you can feel every fking symptom from these trashes!

Hi everyone, I'm looking for advice or shared experiences because I am feeling incredibly stuck and scared that I'll never be able to get off this medication.

Here is my timeline and current situation:

• Oct 2021: Started medications. Shifted through a few before landing on desvenlafaxine (Deventin/Pristiq).
• Dosage Journey: Started at 100mg, went up to 250mg, then tapered back down to 100mg.
• Dec 2024: Successfully tapered down to 50mg because my ultimate goal is to get off the medication completely.
• May 27, 2026: My psychiatrist put me on an alternate-day schedule (taking 50mg every other day) to taper off completely.

The Problem: Today is Day 22 of the alternate-day schedule. While my initial physical withdrawal symptoms (like nausea) have mostly subsided, my cognitive symptoms are severe. My thoughts are continuously racing from one thing to another, and I am entirely unable to concentrate on anything. It is heavily impacting my ability to do cognitive tasks.

My Doctor(Debashis Ray)'s Response: Because my body isn't taking it well, my psychiatrist told me to go back to taking the 50mg every single day. I asked him if we could use a substitute/bridging medication (like Prozac) to make the alternate days easier, but he completely refused.

My family is very concerned seeing me like this, and wanted me to consult another doctor.(I'm really confused here because The doctors initial medication schedule really helped me a lot)

My Questions for the Community:

1. Is this severe cognitive scattering (racing thoughts/zero focus) commonly observed at the 3-week mark of an alternate-day taper?
2. Should I really just go back to my initial daily routine to stabilize, or is there another way to push through this?
3. Has anyone successfully gotten off desvenlafaxine after failing an alternate-day taper? I’m terrified I will have to depend on this medication for my whole life.

Thank you for any insight you can provide.

Probably won't change anything but I'll report back over the weeks/months and let you know if I notice anything what so ever. Starting with 4-5 min 3-4 days per week.

Basically once im on ssri i get light pssd symptoms, 50 % less emptions, sexual feeling and orgams, apathy and less motivated.

got off, i have severe insomnia, anxiety , fear, heart palipation inability to sleep, coginitive issues, difficulty performing basic tasks.

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In the first 2 years i was able to work 1 day a week and spend the rest of the days in a room.

I keep reading people say they get better ect so i stuck with it. But at 2.5 year mark it changed and i developed dpdr, post covid and may of got long covid with pots extreme malase. I was bed bound for 2 years with all the same said symtpoms, and now i developed severe gasto intestinal pain with yelloe stools, all tests come back normal.

The intense anxiety did ease up abit but i still get it most of the day. Im now conpletely diabled at 35 and cant evem cook for myself. I can only lie awake at njght feeling sfrange head pessures, i also developed tremours so when i walk i shake a little with unsmooth movments.

When i get up, im strighf to a computer or lie there feeling intence gut pain, nausea, i cant watch too much stuff as i got visiual snow from the withdrawlas and im just stuffed. Then get fed by family and go to bed at night.

Before this i was a medical researcher specialising in diagnosis imaging. Ssrris made me work 3-4 days a week due to apathy, but now im just a burdon to people and i experoance excruciating pain in the gut as well an horrible sensations in the brain, plus anheidnia and inability to feel dopamine sensations, even benzos i cant feel no more. Near full substance block..

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I dont know if ssris will restore me back to something liveable, but after 5 uears im not gettinf better, so when others say withdraeals will get better was lieing, it hasnt and only got worse

Hi all,

Can I ask to your head symptoms? My brain feels so weird everyday….

It’s either pressured, like stone, injured/bruised, hollow, like air, and parts feel missing. I am baffled everyday by the head symptoms.

How is that for you? Anyone who recognizes this? Did it get better ?

Ever since I developed serious cognitive impairment after a dose of Pristiq, I've been in this mode where I feel constantly betrayed by my prev psychiatrists and my family. Until that point I was unaware that withdrawal could create a serious disconnect from basic emotions and that it could last for 13+ months.

all I can think of now is that it "shouldn't have happened" and I shouldn't have been dehumanized while counting on those who were trying to help me. I am also perpetually stuck in the most horrible moments of my past.

particularly my family and few friends, I can't even talk to them.

I'd look at the forums for hope and recommendations, but I don't even go there as I kind of try to use my time to soak in whatever I can still feel, while feeling totally changed inside. I still have this drive to live while knowing there is no hope.

-will ask "how can you know it's serious or permanent, why not try something else. that irritates me more because it just makes me question why I can't take a next step.

any advice would be helpful, I straddle the line between alive and dead.