A guide to reducing or stopping mental health medication - notes for prescribers

These notes are written to augment the information for consumers in A guide to reducing or stopping mental health medication. They are intended for any prescribers helping someone stop their mental health medication, but it is anticipated they will be most useful for general practitioners. In general, medication discontinuation symptoms (MDS) occur for:

• around half of all people stopping serotonin specific reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
• between a third and a half of people taking other medications such as antipsychotics, benzodiazepines/zopiclone and mood stabilisers.

For a list of common withdrawal symptoms and coping strategies see "A guide to reducing or stopping mental health medication".