Most people are not told about withdrawal before they start
Of 1,829 people prescribed antidepressants, 1% recalled being told about withdrawal effects. It is the conversation most worth having, and the one least likely to have happened.
We have not finished checking this source. No judgement either way. how we score evidence
Caveat on this rating: Design limits, stated because they are the whole caveat. This is a cross-sectional online survey of a self-selected convenience sample recruited through a national campaign, not a random population sample - the same methodological objection Jauhar and Hayes raise against this research group's withdrawal-incidence work applies here, and it is why no national disclosure rate can be read off this row. Recall of a past consultation is also self-reported and unverified against the record: some prescribers may have mentioned withdrawal without the patient retaining it, which the study cannot separate from non-disclosure. What the figure supports is that the conversation is frequently absent or not memorable, not that a precise percentage of prescribers omit it. The 752-participant UK figure is Read, Gee, Diggle and Butler 2019 (doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.08.021), carried in prose and subject to the same sampling limit.
Only 1% of 1,829 people prescribed antidepressants recalled being told anything about withdrawal effects.
Significant findings
Read, Cartwright and Gibson surveyed 1,829 New Zealanders who had been prescribed antidepressants. Asked what they were told when the drug was first prescribed, 1% recalled any mention of withdrawal - while 55% reported experiencing withdrawal effects on stopping.
A separate survey of 752 UK antidepressant users found that most had never had a conversation with their prescriber about coming off at all.
Both are online convenience samples. People who choose to answer a survey about their medication are not a random slice of everyone taking it, and difficult experiences are likely over-represented. Read these as evidence that the conversation is commonly skipped, not as a national rate.
Worth asking
The gap is closable in one appointment, and you can be the one to open it. Ask what withdrawal from this specific drug tends to look like, how long you are expected to take it, and what a taper would involve if you ever wanted to stop. Ask when your next medication review is. Never change or stop a prescribed medication on your own.
Source
How many of 1829 antidepressant users report withdrawal effects or addiction? — Read J, Cartwright C, Gibson K (2018)
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12488
DOI: 10.1111/inm.12488
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: Design limits, stated because they are the whole caveat. This is a cross-sectional online survey of a self-selected convenience sample recruited through a national campaign, not a random population sample - the same methodological objection Jauhar and Hayes raise against this research group's withdrawal-incidence work applies here, and it is why no national disclosure rate can be read off this row. Recall of a past consultation is also self-reported and unverified against the record: some prescribers may have mentioned withdrawal without the patient retaining it, which the study cannot separate from non-disclosure. What the figure supports is that the conversation is frequently absent or not memorable, not that a precise percentage of prescribers omit it. The 752-participant UK figure is Read, Gee, Diggle and Butler 2019 (doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.08.021), carried in prose and subject to the same sampling limit. 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?
How many of 1829 antidepressant users report withdrawal effects or addiction? — Read J, Cartwright C, Gibson K (2018). DOI: 10.1111/inm.12488. 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.