After enduring the debilitating side effects of antidepressants for thirty years, I stopped taking them five years ago and now I have my life back. It’s a whole new world: I wake up feeling bright and rested and take pleasure in everyday tasks – I’m functioning again.
The initial wave of discontinuing side effects – increased anxiety, brain zaps, headaches and nausea – finally subsided, yet I was left with some lingering side effects that were difficult to sort out.
At home I was fine, but when I went out, I sometimes got thrown into full panic mode and had no idea what was triggering it. I thought the problem was anxiety, when it’s actually an “over-stimulation” response to ordinary sights and sounds. When it happens, I go into high anxiety and the buzzing in my head (tinnitus) amps up.