Mark Horowitz @markhoro.bsky.social
@markhoro
Trainee psychiatrist/Researcher @NELFT @UCLPsychiatry (visiting) . Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines: https://amzn.to/3tTQq9s (US) https://amzn.to/40o3wrI (UK)
The review by Kalfas on antidepressant withdrawal in JAMA Psychiatry will mislead as it is based largely on people who have taken antidepressants for 8-12 weeks in 11 RCTs-this will under-estimate the risks for millions of long-term users. bit.ly/4eFrZzO Thread (1/n)

Well put together popular book here by @_AndersSorensen on hyperbolic tapering and other aspects of stopping psych drugs. Will hopefully make the concepts in the Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines more accessible to the public.
Out today by Anders Sørensen. An informative guide to coming off psychiatric drugs. Provides detailed help on reducing medication and on how to manage rebounding emotions amazon.co.uk/Crossing-Zero-…
There was undignified celebration when Henssler was published claiming it showed withdrawal was not significant. This was repeated with Kalfas (tho strangely seems to have withered away). Altho it took months Prof Moncrieff and us actually read through each study in Henssler…
Remember the 2024 Henssler review claiming only 1 in 6 have antidepressant withdrawal symptoms & 1 in 30 severe symptoms? Here we show it was based on highly unreliable data & can't be used to estimate withdrawal effects 1/n @JohnRead @markhoro @JDaviesPhD cambridge.org/core/journals/…
Re-analysis of the Henssler paper out today. It used spontaneously reported events, not systematic, potentially mis-classified relapse, short duration of AD use, treated placebo w/d and AD w/d as equivalent. Using systematic studies w/d risk was 55% bit.ly/4f1ht6l
I was honoured to take part in the FDA's panel on the risks of SSRIs in pregnancy yesterday chaired by @DrMakaryFDA and @TracyBethHoeg. This is a huge issue with so many young women taking these drugs. I hope the UK and other countries will listen x.com/i/broadcasts/1…
The BMJ has altered it's original news piece on the recent antidepressant withdrawal study, "to clarify the study’s limitations and to add comments from James Davies" as the editor says.... - We all appreciate this critical amendment 👇 bmj.com/content/390/bm…
Prof H is very good at witticisms. But seems less strong on the role of serotonin and other neurotransmitters in developmental neurobiology.
There’s a particular kind of colleague from whom an insult can be regarded as something of a compliment.
Really important Letter from @Drug_Evidence outlining how to safely taper, including hyperbolic approaches, drawing from the Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines approach.
🚨 UBC TI Therapeutics Letter 157: How to🛑antidepressants 👉ti.ubc.ca/letter157 🐌 Avoid abrupt discontinuation 🖥️ Monitor patients after dose reduction 👩🏽🏫 Patient education + shared decision-making to minimize harms, improve outcomes #deprescribing #MedEd #antidepressants
Misleading (and usual ad hominem) comment from Prof Howard. There are no RCTs of antidepressants in pregnancy so there is no evidence of harms or benefits from RCTs. Observational studies which control for confounders routinely find the harms mentioned.
Dr Roussos-Ross turned out to be the grown-up on the panel. “Treating depression during pregnancy isn’t a luxury”. Only speaker to appear to understand the literature, the relevance of confounding factors and the absence of RCT evidence for the “harms” raised by other panellists.
Dr. Mark Horowitz (@markhoro) breaks down why the new JAMA Psychiatry study is dangerous. By ignoring long-term users, researchers give false reassurance about withdrawal risks. People suffer severe symptoms and are told it's in their head. Medical gaslighting institutionally.
From the outset of the SSRI era there has been an effort to downplay or erase the existence of withdrawal. Recent events are just the most recent instantiation....
Nocebo obviously. You know how apprehensive newborns can be when they discontinue their drugs. Or it's relapse.
Here are the symptoms of "antidepressant discontinuation syndrome" in newborns, according to the FDA: "respiratory distress, cyanosis, apnea, seizures, temperature instability, feeding difficulty, vomiting, hypoglycemia, hyperreflexia..." Sound mild? pi.lilly.com/ca/prozac-ca-p…
Press release from Kalfas uncritically copied and pasted by psychiatrist.com bit.ly/3TLBeoK
Dr. Mark Horowitz, a leading thinker in psychotropic #deprescribing, will give a virtual talk Monday, July 28. RSVP today! psychdeprescribing.org/index.php/2025…
Grossly Flawed Paper Denies that Antidepressant Withdrawal Effects are “Clinically Meaningful” By John Read Pharma-funded researchers are endangering patient safety by minimising the incidence and severity of withdrawal. madinamerica.com/2025/07/grossl…
"A new study has reignited debate over the frequency and severity of antidepressant withdrawal symptoms." #MentalHealth #antidepressants Article Link: buff.ly/n3oHshp.
Australian doctor who ‘almost died’ writes landmark guidance on how to safely stop using antidepressants theguardian.com/australia-news…
Really important and ignored issue that needs to be further looked at especially since there is poor evidence of benefit to pregnant women from antidepressants.
Approximately 5% of pregnant women take an SSRI for depression. But SSRI use during pregnancy has been linked in observational studies to birth defects, miscarriages, and neurological and behavioral challenges in childhood. On Monday, July 21 at 10 a.m. ET, we’ll be hosting an…
Of course Kalfas also suggest that overly cautious tapering is not needed (because withdrawal is hardly there) which will just create more stories like Bella tapered off quickly.
"What doctors never told me about quitting antidepressants" from Bella Mackie bit.ly/40UJczK. Doctors don't tell b/c they don't know b/c of a campaign to minimise these issues by ppl affronted by the implications
"What doctors never told me about quitting antidepressants" from Bella Mackie bit.ly/40UJczK. Doctors don't tell b/c they don't know b/c of a campaign to minimise these issues by ppl affronted by the implications
Nice analogy by Anders to testing parachutes from 0.8 metres and testing antidepressants after 8-12 weeks.
This article is by Dr. Anders Sørensen who was featured on our Medicating Normal Facebook Live series earlier today. You can find the recording of the conversation between Anders & Nicole Lamberson, PA, on our FB page. #antidepressants ARTICLE LINK: crossingzero.substack.com/p/parachutes-v…