Feeling Stuck on Antidepressants in Midlife? How to Taper Off Safely with Mark Horowitz, PhD

This episode is essential for millions of women who’ve been on
antidepressants for years or even decades. Dr. Mark Horowitz
https://www.outro.com/about/outro, a British-Australian
psychiatry researcher, neuroscientist, and lead author of
clinical deprescribing guidelines, offers an honest conversation
about the science, marketing myths, and long-term effects of
antidepressants, including emotional numbing, weight gain,
disrupted sleep, and cognitive changes. Dr. Horowitz explains the
difference between addiction and physical dependence, why
withdrawal symptoms are often mistaken for relapse, and the
evidence-based method of hyperbolic tapering.


Whether you’ve been on an antidepressant for two years or twenty,
you’ll leave with smart questions for your prescriber, a clear
sense of your own readiness, and reassurance that tapering off
slowly and carefully has a success rate of over 90%.


Episode Overview:
(0:00) Intro/Teaser
(6:00) Midlife Misdiagnosis
(11:00) How Life Events Became Medicalized and Why That
Matters
(18:00) Long-Term Side Effects
(27:00) The Serotonin Hypothesis
(31:00) Addiction vs. Physical Dependence
(39:00) Withdrawal vs. Relapse: How to Tell the Difference
(49:00) Hyperbolic Tapering Explained
(57:00) How to Know if You're Ready to Come Off Your
Antidepressant
(1:10:00) What to Say to Your Doctor
(1:17:00) The After-Party with Dr. Stephanie


Resources mentioned: https://drstephanieestima.com/podcasts/ep461


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P.S. When you're ready, here are two ways Dr. Stephanie can help
you:


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