Evidence / 2022
Depression in adults: treatment and management (NG222)
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) (2022). NICE guideline.
- Population
- Adults with depression
- Sample
- Guideline
- Condition
- Depression
- Medication focus
- Antidepressants; stopping and reducing treatment
- Jurisdiction
- United Kingdom
- Last reviewed
- 1 September 2026
Plain-language finding
NICE NG222 includes recommendations on antidepressant treatment and on reducing and stopping antidepressants, recognising discontinuation symptoms and the need for planned dose reduction rather than abrupt cessation in many situations.
Important limitation
UK guideline. Does not generate an individual taper schedule. Clinical context, medicine availability and comorbidity (including ADHD) require individual assessment.
Why we cite this
Major clinical guideline recognising that stopping an antidepressant is a managed treatment event.
depression · antidepressant · discontinuation · guideline
Supported by clinical guidelines, regulatory information, systematic reviews, or well-established pharmacological knowledge. Still describes populations, not an individual.
Claims this source supports
Stopping or reducing many antidepressants can be followed by discontinuation symptoms in a substantial minority of people. Estimates of how often this happens vary widely by study method. Withdrawal is not the same as addiction, and it is not automatically the same as relapse.
This claim retains disagreement in the literature. Open the classification to read both sides.
Last reviewed 1 September 2026
For many antidepressants, staged dose reduction is commonly recommended rather than abrupt cessation. Paradoxical.life does not provide an individual tapering schedule.
Last reviewed 1 September 2026