Top Psychiatrist: Are Antidepressants Making Depression Harder to Escape?

⚠️ This episode discusses antidepressants, mental health treatment, withdrawal and sensitive topics around psychiatric medication. Please seek professional guidance before making any changes to your medication.

This week I'm joined by Dr Mark Horowitz, clinical research fellow in psychiatry, co-author of the Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines, and one of the most important voices in the world right now on antidepressants and how to come off them safely.

We explore the science behind antidepressants, what they actually do to the brain, and what nobody told you about coming off them.

Dr Mark Horowitz is a clinical research fellow at University College London and North East London NHS Foundation Trust. He co-authored the Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines, which have begun to change clinical guidance on antidepressant withdrawal worldwide. His research on tapering and withdrawal has been published in leading medical journals and has directly influenced NHS and international prescribing guidelines. He founded the National Prescribing Support Service and has trained clinicians at Outro Health in America in safer tapering approaches. He has personal experience of antidepressant withdrawal, which led him to dedicate his career to helping others through the same process.

What we explore together:

Why 1 in 6 people in England are on antidepressants — and whether we are overprescribing
What antidepressants actually do to the brain and why the chemical imbalance theory is misleading
Why the clinical trial data on antidepressants is far less impressive than most people realise
The emotional blunting effect — what it is, why it happens and what to do about it
Why 85% of people recover from depression within 12 months with no intervention at all
What withdrawal actually feels like — and why doctors so often get it wrong
How to taper safely and why doing it too fast causes so much unnecessary suffering
What the alternatives to antidepressants are and why they are rarely offered first

Love, Sarah Ann 💛

Learn more about Dr Mark Horowitz and his work:Dr Horowitz on X: https://x.com/markhoroDr Horowitz's website: https://markhorowitz.org/Outro Health's virtual tapering clinic (US): https://www.outro.com/

My book 'Healthy Shouldn't Be This Hard': https://www.amazon.co.uk/Healthy-Shouldnt-Be-This-Hard-ebook/dp/B0G1DHNRV5

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