Raising awareness of psychiatric drug withdrawal. Sharing the reality, the science and fight for recognition. IG - samhall404
Joined September 2012
- Tweets7K
- Following2.6K
- Followers1.5K
- Likes40K
Pinned Tweet
1/ Thanks to @MikhailaFuller for allowing me to share my story. 🧵
My experience sits in the uncomfortable space between what patients are routinely told about antidepressants and what can, in many cases, actually unfold over time. It is not simply a story of adverse effects, it is a story about the consequences of incomplete information, overconfidence in simplified narratives and a medical culture that too often defaults to explanation rather than investigation when things go wrong.
I was prescribed the antidepressant Sertraline for situational panic attacks following a house fire when I was younger and remained on it for approximately 13 years. During that time, I was never meaningfully informed about the possibility of physiological dependence, nor about the potential difficulty of stopping the drug after long term use. The phrase “safe and effective” was presented as if it were a stable, universal truth, rather than a context dependent conclusion drawn from limited and biased data.
There was no discussion of what happens when the brain adapts to a drug over more than a decade. No acknowledgement that removing that drug might not be a neutral act. No mention of protracted withdrawal or that stopping could result in a severe and prolonged destabilisation of the nervous system. Informed consent, in any meaningful sense, was absent.
When I eventually came off the SSRI, it was done through a rapid doctor led taper that bore no relation to the duration of my use. What followed was not a return of my original symptoms, but the onset of something far more severe, complex, disabling and life changing.
Almost immediately, I began to experience intense and persistent surges of physiological anxiety and panic. These were not thoughts or worries in the conventional sense. They were full body events; overwhelming waves of adrenaline that arose without psychological trigger, accompanied by a profound sense of internal threat. They were not responsive to reasoning, reassurance or standard psychological strategies because they were not primarily psychological in origin.
Alongside this, I developed widespread neurological and sensory disturbances. I experienced constant “electric” sensations throughout my body, moving unpredictably through my arms, legs, hands and across my head and face. These were often painful, presenting as burning, tingling or sharp nerve like sensations. My muscles began to twitch involuntarily, with fasciculations and spasms becoming a daily occurrence. At times, my facial muscles would contract and twitch without warning.
One of the most severe and distressing symptoms I experienced was akathisia. It is often described clinically as restlessness, but that description is profoundly inadequate. What I experienced was an intense, unrelenting inner agitation combined with a powerful urge to escape my own body, alongside a compulsion to move that made stillness feel intolerable. At its worst, it generated intense suicidal urges, not from hopelessness, but from a desperate need to escape the sensation itself. It was not psychological distress in any conventional sense, it was a physical state that overrode any attempt at control. It is difficult to overstate how severe and destabilising this symptom has been for three years.
Sleep became almost impossible at times. I went through prolonged periods of insomnia, sometimes sleeping only three hours across several days. When I did manage to fall asleep, I was frequently jolted awake by hypnic jerks; sudden, violent awakenings accompanied by adrenaline surges. The cumulative effect of this sleep deprivation was profound, amplifying every other symptom and eroding my ability to cope.
Cognitively, I experienced significant impairment. I developed …
prescribed-harm.com/stories/…
Sam Hall retweeted
There are endless unproven theories about how SSRIs 'work'. But any remotely experienced pracitioner should be able to see that the principle mechanism by which they 'work' (beyond placebo, confirmation bias & natural recovery over time) is by numbing one's total emotional life.
Sam Hall retweeted
I've recovered from years of psychiatric drug harm and protracted withdrawal injuries (BIND and SSRI).
Just returned from an amazing trip to Cozumel, Mexico.
It's important to know you can heal. You can make a new life for yourself. You can love every minute of being fully alive.
See the rainbows 🌈
Sam Hall retweeted
I think people are not aware of how much mis-information is propagated about this class of medications.
I remember being taught to say this to patients: that the increase in suicidality is caused by an increase in energy before an improvement in mood.
What studies show is simply an increase in suicidality when people are given these medications compared to placebo.
How many people have been talked into taking these medications because of the repetition of these talking points by prescribers?
Who Are the Real Purveyors of Medical Misinformation?
One of the most troubling things about psychiatry is how speculative explanations for drug harms become established facts through sheer repetition.
Take the claim that SSRIs can increase suicidality because they restore a depressed person’s energy before improving their mood, supposedly giving them the motivation to act on existing suicidal thoughts.
This is routinely presented as though it’s an established scientific explanation.
It isn’t. It’s a longstanding hypothesis for which convincing empirical evidence is lacking.
A 2009 review in Psychiatric Services examined this very theory and found no consistent evidence supporting it.
Yet rather than acknowledging that these drugs can themselves produce adverse psychological reactions, including agitation and akathisia, we’re offered a reassuring story about patients getting better.
It’s a striking example of how a superficially plausible sounding hypothesis can become received wisdom when it conveniently distracts from uncomfortable truths about drug harm.
Just because something is repeated as fact by someone in a white coat doesn’t make it any more true than any other forms of misinformation we hear online.
And when we see it we should call it out.
Sam Hall retweeted
“Although sertraline removed the suicidal thoughts and extreme emotional distress I was having, it felt like I was surviving and barely living." He said he was 'very emotionally numb' and experienced days where he 'slept for nearly 10-12 hours at a time.'
ladbible.com/news/sertraline…
Sam Hall retweeted
WOMEN'S EXPERIENCES OF ANTIDEPRESSANT WITHDRAWAL:
U.S. STUDY PARTICIPANTS NEEDED
Too much remains unknown about antidepressant withdrawal. Women deserve clear information about how stopping these drugs may affect their lives and reproductive planning—and research documenting their experiences is essential to closing that knowledge gap.
Dr. Laura Farach, a pediatrician with 37 years of experience, is leading a new study with researchers from several institutions. The team is recruiting women living in the United States for research interviews about prolonged antidepressant tapering and withdrawal. To be eligible, women must not have taken benzodiazepines for four or more consecutive weeks within the past two years. Additional eligibility criteria appear in the invitation below.
Participants’ stories can advance clinical recognition of prolonged withdrawal and give women of childbearing age the information needed for meaningful informed consent.
Please read the invitation below and share it with others who may be interested.
Many thanks!
Medicating Normal Outreach Team
------------------------------------
STUDY INVITATION
You are invited to participate in a research study about antidepressant tapering or withdrawal experiences. Before you decide whether to participate, please read the information below carefully.
Dr. Laura Farach and her co-investigators are conducting this study. This interview study is for women who began antidepressants before the age of 24 and who are currently tapering for more than one year, have completed a multiyear taper, or report a prolonged tapering or discontinuation process that the study team determines is relevant to the study aims during screening.
The purpose is to understand and document participants' experiences, perspectives, and decision-making about antidepressant tapering and how, if at all, it relates to family planning and reproductive decisions. The interview will include questions about medical history, social history, medication history, tapering history, sexual functioning if relevant, and family planning
history. Questions about sexuality are optional and may be skipped. The interview is expected to take approximately 60 minutes, with an optional follow-up if needed; interviews may occur over multiple sessions if preferred.
If you become upset or distressed during the interview, we can pause or stop, and you will be encouraged to seek support from your established healthcare providers, crisis resources, or trusted supports as appropriate. If you disclose suicidal thoughts or feel unable to stay safe, the interview will be paused or stopped, and you will be encouraged to contact appropriate supports
or emergency/crisis resources. If you believe that discussing these experiences may cause you significant emotional distress, you may decide not to participate.
This study is for research purposes only and does not involve medical care, diagnosis, or treatment. Participation does not create a physician-patient relationship with Dr. Farach or any member of the study team.
Participation is voluntary, there is no compensation, and you may skip any question, pause, reschedule, or stop the interview at any time. You may withdraw from the study at any time.
If you are interested in participating, please contact Dr. Farach at [email protected] for additional information and eligibility screening. Please write the word STUDY in the subject line. Please do not include medical or other sensitive personal information in your email. Email communication may not be secure; please provide scheduling availability only.
______________________________________________________________________________
To learn more about the devastating physical and emotional toll of psychiatric drug withdrawal, watch our documentary, "Medicating Normal":
buff.ly/3ZQaINI
Sam Hall retweeted
SSRIs disrupt the serotonin system which is responsible for numerous emotional regulatory functions. If destabilised can lead to a variety of responses which could lead to suicide. The most well recognised of these is akathisia which it is well established can lead to suicide. Likewise missing a few doses can lead people who have never been previously suicidal to have suicidal thoughts because the whole system can destabilise. This has all been established in people who are not depressed- including healthy volunteers.
Arvid Carlsson the main pioneer of SSRIs explicitly recognised this possibility.
It seems abundantly obvious to me that if these drugs are powerful enough to alter people’s mental states enough to drag people out of severe depression they may, in some cases, have the opposite effect. This is true of most drugs which alter brain function.
Sam Hall retweeted
Who Are the Real Purveyors of Medical Misinformation?
One of the most troubling things about psychiatry is how speculative explanations for drug harms become established facts through sheer repetition.
Take the claim that SSRIs can increase suicidality because they restore a depressed person’s energy before improving their mood, supposedly giving them the motivation to act on existing suicidal thoughts.
This is routinely presented as though it’s an established scientific explanation.
It isn’t. It’s a longstanding hypothesis for which convincing empirical evidence is lacking.
A 2009 review in Psychiatric Services examined this very theory and found no consistent evidence supporting it.
Yet rather than acknowledging that these drugs can themselves produce adverse psychological reactions, including agitation and akathisia, we’re offered a reassuring story about patients getting better.
It’s a striking example of how a superficially plausible sounding hypothesis can become received wisdom when it conveniently distracts from uncomfortable truths about drug harm.
Just because something is repeated as fact by someone in a white coat doesn’t make it any more true than any other forms of misinformation we hear online.
And when we see it we should call it out.
Sam Hall retweeted
Mental health professionals being servile to psychiatry out of fear, ignorance or a quiet hope to make friends in higher places, is a frustrating thing to so widely observe.
Sam Hall retweeted
@joannamoncrieff: ”I think psychiatrists have been very slow to accept these problems, partly because they just can't bear to acknowledge that these very widely prescribed drugs that all psychiatrists have been prescribing for a long time, can be so damaging.” 🔗👇
Sam Hall retweeted
The UK is updating antidepressant warnings to recognize PSSD (post-SSRI sexual dysfunction) and acknowledge that sexual side effects can continue long after stopping treatment.
It's time for the FDA to follow suit.
But sadly this still isn't enough. These injuries extend far beyond sexual dysfunction, causing devastating, lasting cognitive and emotional impairments.
People deserve to be fully informed about what they are risking before making a decision that could potentially affect them for the rest of their lives. @PSSDNetwork
Sam Hall retweeted
"#Akathisia predominates among reported SSRI-associated EPS, followed by dystonia, parkinsonism, and tardive dyskinesia–like syndromes, with documented exacerbations in patients with established Parkinson’s disease."
2001 !! 👇
Movement Disturbances Associated With SSRIs | Psychiatric Times
share.google/LuEd2f1tbCuxlq7…
Sam Hall retweeted
"I'm not crying anymore, but I'm not feeling any emotions either."
The woman had revealed her sex drive had disappeared and even joyful moments felt entirely muted, admitting: "I'm coping Raj, but I don't feel like me anymore."
mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ph…
Sam Hall retweeted
"In our recent study....we showed that adults who start antidepressants for depression are 2.5 times more likely to attempt suicide when compared to those starting placebo. This equates to 1 in every 200 people attempting suicide as a direct effect of taking the antidepressant."
Recently there's been lots of discussion about rising suicide rates, but almost no discussion about this: "1 in every 200 people attempting suicide as a direct effect of taking the antidepressant"
@Mental_Elf @wendyburn @ProfLAppleby @rcpsych what say you?
cepuk.org/2019/09/06/hengart…
Sam Hall retweeted
"A final sample of 19,155 long-term antidepressant users were compared with 20,648 propensity score matched nonusers. After adjusting for covariates, long-term antidepressant use was significantly associated with dementia (odds ratio [OR] 1.92, 95% [CI] 1.72–2.15, p < 0.001)."
Sam Hall retweeted
"I think psychiatrists have been very slow to accept these problems, partly because I think they just can't bear to acknowledge that these very widely prescribed drugs that, you know, all psychiatrists have been prescribing for a long time can be so damaging."
@joannamoncrieff
Sam Hall retweeted
WOMEN'S EXPERIENCES OF ANTIDEPRESSANT WITHDRAWAL:
U.S. STUDY PARTICIPANTS NEEDED
Too much remains unknown about antidepressant withdrawal. Women deserve clear information about how stopping these drugs may affect their lives and reproductive planning—and research documenting their experiences is essential to closing that knowledge gap.
Dr. Laura Farach, a pediatrician with 37 years of experience, is leading a new study with researchers from several institutions. The team is recruiting women living in the United States for research interviews about prolonged antidepressant tapering and withdrawal. To be eligible, women must not have taken benzodiazepines for four or more consecutive weeks within the past two years. Additional eligibility criteria appear in the invitation below.
Participants’ stories can advance clinical recognition of prolonged withdrawal and give women of childbearing age the information needed for meaningful informed consent.
Please read the invitation below and share it with others who may be interested.
Many thanks!
Medicating Normal Outreach Team
------------------------------------
STUDY INVITATION
You are invited to participate in a research study about antidepressant tapering or withdrawal experiences. Before you decide whether to participate, please read the information below carefully.
Dr. Laura Farach and her co-investigators are conducting this study. This interview study is for women who began antidepressants before the age of 24 and who are currently tapering for more than one year, have completed a multiyear taper, or report a prolonged tapering or discontinuation process that the study team determines is relevant to the study aims during screening.
The purpose is to understand and document participants' experiences, perspectives, and decision-making about antidepressant tapering and how, if at all, it relates to family planning and reproductive decisions. The interview will include questions about medical history, social history, medication history, tapering history, sexual functioning if relevant, and family planning
history. Questions about sexuality are optional and may be skipped. The interview is expected to take approximately 60 minutes, with an optional follow-up if needed; interviews may occur over multiple sessions if preferred.
If you become upset or distressed during the interview, we can pause or stop, and you will be encouraged to seek support from your established healthcare providers, crisis resources, or trusted supports as appropriate. If you disclose suicidal thoughts or feel unable to stay safe, the interview will be paused or stopped, and you will be encouraged to contact appropriate supports
or emergency/crisis resources. If you believe that discussing these experiences may cause you significant emotional distress, you may decide not to participate.
This study is for research purposes only and does not involve medical care, diagnosis, or treatment. Participation does not create a physician-patient relationship with Dr. Farach or any member of the study team.
Participation is voluntary, there is no compensation, and you may skip any question, pause, reschedule, or stop the interview at any time. You may withdraw from the study at any time.
If you are interested in participating, please contact Dr. Farach at [email protected] for additional information and eligibility screening. Please write the word STUDY in the subject line. Please do not include medical or other sensitive personal information in your email. Email communication may not be secure; please provide scheduling availability only.
______________________________________________________________________________
To learn more about the devastating physical and emotional toll of psychiatric drug withdrawal, watch our documentary, "Medicating Normal":
buff.ly/3ZQaINI
Sam Hall retweeted
A step in the right direction for antidepressant labelling but informed consent is more than a list of warnings. More on how the updated MHRA guidance came about and what this means for patients. #PSSD #antidepressants #MHRA rxisk.org/mhra-announces-new…
Sam Hall retweeted
Remember, folks: warning the public about real harms from medications is NOT fearmongering.
What IS fearmongering is shaming people for speaking out about those harms by claiming that people might die if they're frightened into not taking their medication.
Sam Hall retweeted
There are healthcare workers who have a front row seat to prescribed harm going on right now. A subset chooses to taunt and harass individuals with drug injuries online. There is something fundamentally wrong with them, and they have absolutely no business being in healthcare.
Sam Hall retweeted
I remember back when we were fighting for the FDA’s antidepressant suicide warnings, groups were emerging with stories of how these drugs had devastated marriages, relationships, and intimacy. Sadly, their experiences were largely dismissed or ignored.
I often wonder now if some of those people were describing what we’re finally beginning to recognize as #PSSD. How many years have these voices gone unheard?
Thanks @NIHDirector_Jay for speaking out about the harms of antidepressants.
If you or someone has a story, please submit to antidepressantinjury.com
Surreal to see the NIH Director @NIHDirector_Jay talking about PSSD—an injury long dismissed, with victims told by doctors their antidepressant induced harm wasn’t real.
For years it was relegated to Reddit forums and hidden corners of the internet: an abandoned community of devastated lives desperately seeking answers, with no one listening.
These are real people unjustly left to suffer, stripped of fundamental parts of their humanity. We cannot leave them behind. We urgently need research into the underlying mechanisms and a path toward recovery. #pssd @PSSDNetwork @elliotbewick @lololizzle