There’s a science to getting off antidepressants
When people struggle to stop antidepressants, it’s not proof they’ll need medication forever. It’s actually a predictable result of long-term medication use and the resulting withdrawal symptoms. Luckily, the science of pharmacology now provides a gentler way down.
Antidepressant withdrawal is routinely mistaken for relapse
When someone reduces their dose too quickly and feels worse, it's often read as proof the illness has returned — so the medication is restarted, frequently at a higher dose. In reality, those symptoms are frequently the brain reacting to a reduction it wasn't given time to adapt to.
This single misreading is one of the biggest reasons people stay on psychiatric medications for years longer than intended.
Conventional view
Symptoms after stopping → "the depression is back" → restart medication.
What the science shows
Symptoms are often dose-driven withdrawal → adjust the taper, not the diagnosis.
Hyperbolic tapering uses science to help minimize withdrawal
Antidepressants block the serotonin transporter (SERT). But the relationship between dose and SERT occupancy isn’t linear—it’s hyperbolic. Occupancy climbs steeply at low doses, then flattens. Halving a 20 mg dose barely moves it; the same cut near zero falls off a cliff.
How Outro Health applies hyperbolic tapering
We translate the published science into a supervised, individualized plan — built around your specific medication, dose, and history, and adjusted in real time based on how you actually feel.
Reduce by a percentage of your most recent dose, so each step gets smaller.
Use liquids or compounded micro-doses when pills can’t go low enough.
Adjust the pace based on your symptoms, not a fixed timeline.
Taper with clinician supervision, so you’re never adjusting alone.
You’re not alone— antidepressant withdrawal is real & common
50M
5 years
9/10
A clinical standard, built by the doctor who helped define it
In 2019, a paper in Lancet Psychiatry reframed how the field understood tapering. Five years later, that evidence became The Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines, the first formal clinical guidelines dedicated to safely stopping antidepressants, benzodiazepines and gabapentinoids.
Dr. Mark Horowitz, MBBS, PhD, co-founder of Outro Health, is a psychiatrist and clinical researcher, and the lead author of The Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines. His work began with his own difficult experience stopping an antidepressant, an experience that revealed how little clinical guidance existed.
Methods backed by international clinical organizations
The need for careful, individualized tapering — and the reality of withdrawal — is increasingly recognized across clinical and academic medicine.
How to start
Book your evaluation visit
Book a virtual evaluation in minutes, with a clinician trained in science-based deprescribing.
Meet your taper clinician
Share your medication history, what you've tried before, and what you're hoping for now.
Start your taper
Take the next step on your journey with regular visits with your clinician, symptom tracking, and custom prescriptions.
Prepare for life on less meds
Engage with your Outro clinician, community, and app to build your skills for life after medication.
The evidence base
A selection of the peer-reviewed literature underpinning the approach described above.
Horowitz MA, Taylor D. Tapering of SSRI treatment to mitigate withdrawal symptoms.
Lancet Psychiatry. 2019;6(6):538–546. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(19)30032-X
Horowitz MA, Taylor D. The Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines: Antidepressants, Benzodiazepines, Gabapentinoids and Z-drugs
Wiley-Blackwell; 2024.
Davies J, Read J. A systematic review into the incidence, severity and duration of antidepressant withdrawal effects.
Addict Behav. 2019;97:111–121.
Goodwin GM, et al. Emotional blunting with antidepressant treatments.
J Affect Disord. 2017;221:31–35.
Maund E, et al. Barriers and facilitators to discontinuing antidepressant use: a systematic review and thematic synthesis.
J Affect Disord. 2019.
FAQs
Explore frequently asked questions about safe antidepressant tapering, withdrawal symptoms, lifestyle strategies, and how Outro Health works.
Outro Health provides flexible, medically-supervised tapering plan with gradual dose reductions tailored just for you. Our hyperbolic tapering method, where reductions become progressively smaller, gently minimizes nervous system disruption and withdrawal discomfort. We personalize your tapering plan based on your response, preferences, and what's happening in your life.
Safe antidepressant deprescribing requires a comprehensive approach that is often difficult for an individual prescriber to provide due to the time required. It also requires up-to-date knowledge on the latest techniques in tapering antidepressants that are not yet widely taught in the United States. Think of Outro Health as a specialist in tapering.
At Outro Health, we walk with you every step of the way. Our specialized, high-touch care team takes time to get to know you and your goals, and provides an advanced, individualized approach to tapering off antidepressants informed by the latest guidance and clinical evidence. Through Outro Health’s app, your symptoms and progress are continuously monitored by your provider, who can reach out to offer coping strategies or adapt your care plan accordingly. If you have questions or concerns that arise in between appointments, your Outro Health provider is available via 1-to-1 chat.
Hyperbolic tapering (sometimes called the Horowitz-Taylor method) is based on the fact that as antidepressant dose goes up, drug action on brain cells increases, but not in equal steps. Higher dosages have less and less additional influence – a decreasing return on investment. The graph showing this is called a hyperbolic curve (goes up faster at low doses, and flatter at higher doses).
Tapering based on this method gradually reduces the drug following this natural curve, with the size of dose reduction getting smaller as the dosage gets closer to 0mg. These very low doses are difficult to make up with commonly available tablets, so compounded medications become important. To learn more, speak with an Outro Health clinician by scheduling your evaluation.
Many people have difficulties when they try to go off antidepressants. Our team of expertly trained clinicians will develop a tailored tapering program, informed by the latest scientific evidence and designed to minimize withdrawal effects - even for these people who have tried to stop before.
We currently offer taper management for antidepressant medications. You can see the full list here.
We are making preparations to expand to other psychotropic medications like benzodiazepines and gabapentinoids, which also follow the hyperbolic tapering method. You can express an interest in tapering these medications in our sign-up form.
Come off your antidepressant the right way
Clinician-supervised, evidence-based tapering — personalized to your medication and paced to you.
