(in reference to alex_k's post)

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
alexandra_k said:
The difficulty with assessing the above is that if you stop taking your meds your body needs to go through an adjustment time (otherwise known as a 'withdrawal syndrome') where the initial symptoms often present as much worse than before. A lot of people conclude on that basis that they need to take their meds, but what they don't appreciate is that those particular symptoms are the result of their taking the meds and suffering through withdrawal from them.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">I especially like how you described this, alex. So true, so true. Many people go off their ADs and don't realize they will feel depressed at first as their brain readjusts to the "no med" situation by upregulating their serotonin receptors (in the case of the SSRIs). So they feel depressed and then go right back onto their ADs again. The brain needs time to readjust. Probably several months off of the ADs is a fair trial to see if one is still depressed or not "under there." (Of course, if a person is going to harm himself, resuming the meds quickly is probably the best course!) This also highlights the need to go off the ADs very gradually, to give one's brain chemistry a change to adjust.