How often withdrawal happens is disputed. That it happens is not.
Two systematic reviews of antidepressant withdrawal report 56% and about 15%. They counted different things - and neither disputes that stopping abruptly is the part you can control.
We have not finished checking this source. No judgement either way. how we score evidence
Caveat on this rating: Contested, and symmetrically - both reviews have published critiques. Jauhar and Hayes argue Davies and Read inverted the evidence hierarchy, giving most weight to self-selected online surveys of people already experiencing withdrawal, without registering inclusion criteria in advance and excluding low-incidence studies after the fact; on that reading 56% is not a population rate and cannot be attributed to the drug's pharmacology. Henssler and colleagues' placebo-controlled estimate drew five published comment letters in Lancet Psychiatry and carries a published erratum; the authors themselves report substantial heterogeneity and note that residual or re-emerging illness has to be considered when reading their figure. What neither paper disputes is that withdrawal is real, that it was underestimated for years, and that abrupt discontinuation is the avoidable part. The headline percentage is unsettled in both directions.
Two systematic reviews of antidepressant withdrawal reached very different numbers, and the distance between them is the honest state of this evidence.
Significant findings
Davies and Read pooled 14 studies reporting incidence and found withdrawal in 56% of people coming off, with 46% of those choosing the most severe rating offered.
Henssler and colleagues pooled 79 studies covering 21,002 patients and compared people stopping a drug with people stopping placebo. Their drug-attributable estimate was about 15%, or one in six to seven.
The gap is method, not honesty. One gave weight to patient surveys; the other required a placebo comparison and set aside what showed up in both groups.
Neither disputes the practical part. Withdrawal is real, it is not reliably finished in two weeks, and it is easy to mistake for the original problem returning.
Worth asking
The variable you control is speed. Never stop or reduce a prescribed antidepressant on your own - abrupt stops can be dangerous, and any change needs a prescriber-supervised taper. Ask what a slow taper would look like for your drug and dose, and how you would tell withdrawal apart from relapse.
Source
A systematic review into the incidence, severity and duration of antidepressant withdrawal effects — Davies J, Read J (2019)
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.08.027
DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.08.027
How this was scored
- Study design
- not recorded
- Funding
- not recorded
- Published in
- not recorded
- Sample size
- not recorded
- Preregistered
- not recorded
- Conflicts disclosed
- not recorded
- Independent of proponent
- not recorded
- Retracted
- No
We have not finished checking this source, so there is no scoring to show yet. “We have not checked this yet” and “this is disputed” are different statements, so no scored band is shown rather than a low one.
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published August 31, 2026.
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
Resolv rates this source "not yet assessed". We have not finished checking this source. No judgement either way. One caveat travels with that badge: Contested, and symmetrically - both reviews have published critiques. Jauhar and Hayes argue Davies and Read inverted the evidence hierarchy, giving most weight to self-selected online surveys of people already experiencing withdrawal, without registering inclusion criteria in advance and excluding low-incidence studies after the fact; on that reading 56% is not a population rate and cannot be attributed to the drug's pharmacology. Henssler and colleagues' placebo-controlled estimate drew five published comment letters in Lancet Psychiatry and carries a published erratum; the authors themselves report substantial heterogeneity and note that residual or re-emerging illness has to be considered when reading their figure. What neither paper disputes is that withdrawal is real, that it was underestimated for years, and that abrupt discontinuation is the avoidable part. The headline percentage is unsettled in both directions. The score is calculated from recorded facts about the source — study design, funding, publication venue, sample size, preregistration — not typed in by an editor.
What is the source for this?
A systematic review into the incidence, severity and duration of antidepressant withdrawal effects — Davies J, Read J (2019). DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.08.027. The full source is linked on this page so you can read it yourself.
Is this medical advice?
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.