Episode Details

This episode is brought to you by Rythm Health, Momentous, Bon Charge, and Branch Basics.

Millions of people take antidepressants to manage anxiety and depression, yet many questions remain about their long-term effectiveness and what happens when people try to stop taking them. As concerns grow about withdrawal symptoms and the challenges of coming off these medications, understanding both their benefits and limitations has never been more important.

Today on The Dhru Purohit Show, Dhru sits down with Dr. Mark Horowitz to explore the widespread use of antidepressants, why so many people struggle to come off them, and how withdrawal symptoms are often misunderstood. Dr. Horowitz shares his own difficult experience tapering off antidepressants and how it inspired him to research and develop safer, evidence-based approaches for reducing these medications. He also examines the research on how antidepressants were originally approved, highlighting key limitations in some studies and how those flaws may have shaped our understanding of their benefits and risks. Along the way, he explains what happens in the brain during the tapering process and the best and worst practices for supporting individuals dealing with anxiety, depression, and antidepressant discontinuation.

Dr. Mark Horowitz is a Clinical Research Fellow in Psychiatry with the NHS in London, Visiting Lecturer at King’s College London, and lead author of the Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines, the first authoritative handbook on safely stopping antidepressants and other psychiatric medications. His research has helped shape UK national guidance on tapering psychiatric drugs, and he has published in leading journals including The Lancet Psychiatry and JAMA Psychiatry. Drawing from both his clinical expertise and personal experience coming off psychiatric medications after 20 years of use, Dr. Horowitz is dedicated to helping people safely reduce or discontinue medications when appropriate.

*Important: Never stop or reduce a prescribed medication without guidance from your healthcare provider. Medication changes should be made under professional supervision, as withdrawal symptoms and individual responses can vary significantly.

In this episode, Dhru and Dr. Horowitz dive into:

(0:00) Introduction

(00:23) The Truth About Antidepressant Effectiveness

(7:10) Why Getting Off Antidepressants Can Be So Difficult

(16:05) Dr. Horowitz's Personal Withdrawal Story

(29:14) If Not A Chemical Imbalance, Then What?

(36:19) The Neurogenesis Theory Explained

(46:52) Informed Consent And What Patients Aren't Told

(55:35) Why Standard Tapering Often Fails

(1:02:37) The Antidepressant Controversies

(1:12:25) Best And Worst Practices For Recovery

(1:20:15) Resources For Healing And Support

(1:24:37) Final Thoughts And Advice

Also mentioned in this episode:

• The Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines: Antidepressants, Benzodiazepines, Gabapentinoids and Z-drugs (The Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines Series

For more on Dr. Horowitz, follow him on X/Twitter, Substack,  Outro Health’s socials: Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, LinkedIn,

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