Are SSRI (Antidepressants)Withdrawals Comparable To Heroin Withdrawal?

diaryofafloppingfi
Feb 22, 2025
4 min read

Updated: Jan 21

It has been a few months since I posted last, but I assure you this blog has never been far from my mind. I am busy paving a path for where to take Diary of a Flopping Fish next, and progress takes the time that it takes. I have been working on compiling research for something that is very dear to my heart: the dangers of psychiatric medication. When I woke up yesterday morning, I thought it would be a normal day. I crawled out of bed and met my boyfriend in the living room for coffee. As per my normal ritual, I turned on YouTube and found something interesting to watch.

I was watching this episode on Dr. Joseph's YouTube Channel, where he mentioned a website called askapatient.com, where you can look up a drug and read reviews of the patients who have used those drugs. So, of course, I was perusing the bad reviews of the most popular SSRIs (of which I have taken and had a very bad time on) when I decided to start working on a new article. When I began to research what’s going on with mental health lately, I stumbled across the talk of the day of RFK Jr. announcing they are looking into, among other things, the overprescription of psychiatric medications, including SSRIs. Well, if this isn’t providence, I don’t know what is.

Buckle up for a bumpy ride.

But First

I am not a doctor or licensed professional of any kind, and nothing that you read on this website will ever replace the advice of a medical professional. I do recommend that before making any decisions regarding your health, you consult with mental health and/or medical professionals and not my blog. Furthermore, psychiatric drugs are prescribed correctly many times too, so if it is working for you or you are feeling better on them, you should probably keep taking the drugs, but again, I’m not a doctor, so don’t take my advice on that. I am not telling anyone in this article to stop any treatment prescribed to them by a professional.

Is Withdrawal from SSRIs Comparable to Heroin Withdrawal?

Today, I want to talk specifically about SSRIs and the dangers that are only recently coming into the spotlight. There were 42 million Americans taking antidepressants in 2020, and it has become entirely normal for people to take antidepressants. However, SSRIs are often prescribed for moderate depression that doesn’t meet criteria for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), and for long-term use, for which many studies do not cover.

The mainstream media is having a lot of trouble with RFK Jr stating that:

“I know people, including members of my family, who’ve had a much worse time getting off of SSRIs than they have getting off of heroin.”

In an interview on ABC News yesterday with Dr. Sasha Hamdani, a board-certified psychiatrist, Dr. Hamdani refuted claims that SSRIs could be dangerous, and that “There is no comparison between withdrawal from SSRIs and withdrawal from heroin.”

However, in the defense of RFK Jr., there absolutely is a comparison that can be made between potential withdrawal symptoms from SSRIs and heroin withdrawal. Let's also not forget that heroin is just a street drug that is derived from morphine. Morphine has many of the same withdrawal symptoms as heroin, but morphine is prescribed by doctors, so it has been seen as more socially acceptable than heroin, yet we seem to forget that it does have the same risks. Is it so hard to believe that one class of drugs prescribed by doctors may also have withdrawal symptoms similar to another class of drugs prescribed by doctors?

Support for SSRI Withdraw

Lastly, I want to draw everyone’s attention to the hard reality that withdrawal from SSRIs can be so bad that there are whole peer support websites dedicated to surviving the withdrawal from antidepressants. An Australian Psychiatrist, Dr. Mark Horowitz (MBBS, PhD), talks of his own experience withdrawing from SSRIs on his website and has also released a guide on safe ways to withdraw from these medications.

Another major difference between heroin withdrawal and SSRI withdrawal is that heroin withdrawal will generally subside after a week, but people withdrawing from SSRIs can be left tapering off of their medication for years, which was the case with Dr. Horowitz. While patients are struggling to taper off of SSRIs, they also may be struggling with a relapse of symptoms that were the cause of their choosing medication in the first place, as well as trying to maintain their lives. The withdrawal symptoms of medications can vary between medications, and from mild to severe. This doesn’t mean that everyone ceasing SSRI’s will have terrible side effects, but there is always a risk. As patients, we need to have informed consent, which means being made aware of the risks before we take the drugs and also given an option not to take them if we decide for ourselves that the risk is not worth the small chance of benefit.

The Bottom Line

In conclusion, while SSRIs can be very beneficial for some, they are not the first answer for everyone who has the symptom of depression. Depression can be a symptom of many different mental disorders, and SSRIs are not indicated for the treatment of depression as a stand-alone symptom.

Stay Tuned

I will be talking more about my findings on mental health medications in the near future,

as this is not talked about enough, and it affects far more people than is being considered. If you have had bad experiences while taking or stopping SSRIs, comment below! I want to hear your stories!

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The Diary Of A Flopping Fish and any posts or articles published on Diaryofafloppingfish.com are not reviewed by a therapist or medical or mental health professional. Resources are cited, and opinion is opinion. No advice or opinions in any articles replace professional advice from a doctor, therapist, or any other kind of health professional. The author is not a licensed professional of any kind.