Tapering off antidepressants Tapering is lowering an antidepressant dose in planned steps over time, instead of stopping it at once. After a month or more on an antidepressant, and more so after months or years, the brain has adapted to it, and gradual steps give it time to readjust, which lowers the risk of withdrawal symptoms and leaves room to slow down if they appear. It is usually done with a prescriber, at a pace adjusted to how the person feels.
Also called: Tapering, Tapering off, Weaning off, Dose reduction.
Written by Alena Kozlova, PhD , from published studies and prescribing information.
Definition medically reviewed by Dr. Jason Tan , Consultant Psychiatrist, on October 28, 2026, this definition only. Next review: October 28, 2027.
How antidepressants are tapered Antidepressants are usually tapered in shrinking steps, at a pace set by how you feel.
Each step is usually a proportion of the current dose rather than a fixed amount. That makes the last stretch, from a low dose to zero, the slowest part. It is also where people most often need extra time.
A plan written at the start is a draft. If symptoms appear, a step can be held longer or partly reversed. Some people taper over a few weeks, others over many months.
Small doses can be hard to get from standard tablets. A pharmacist can tell you whether a liquid form, a lower-strength tablet or splitting is an option for your medication.
What do drops and holds mean? A drop is one step down in dose. Holding means staying on a dose until you feel steady before the next drop. Micro tapering means very small drops, often a few percent of the dose at a time, a form of hyperbolic tapering.
How long should I taper for? It can take from a few weeks to many months, depending on you and on how long you took the full dose. The longer you took it, the longer the taper usually takes. UK guidance from NICE adds that the steps should get smaller as the dose gets lower and that you agree the pace with your prescriber. In a 2023 Dutch study of 608 people tapering with strips, women, younger people and those who fitted the taper into one to three months had more withdrawal symptoms.
What does a taper plan include? A plan names the first step, how long you hold each dose, how you and your prescriber will judge whether a step went well, and what happens if it did not. It also says which form of the medication you will use for the small final doses, because that often has to be arranged in advance with a pharmacy.
Why do I feel terrible during a taper? There can be more than one reason, and each has its own fix to discuss with your prescriber.
Steps too close together: each new dose needs time before the next cut, so holding a dose longer often helps.A step too large: a smaller step may suit you better, for example a quarter of the dose instead of half.Missed or late doses: on a taper a missed dose is felt more, so take each dose at the same time every day.A dose worked out wrong: check the new dose with your pharmacist, especially with a liquid or split tablets.Keep your prescriber informed before each next step: bring when the symptom started compared with the cut and how strong it is. How to tell withdrawal from other causes is covered under antidepressant discontinuation syndrome. If you feel much worse or have thoughts of harming yourself, contact your prescriber now rather than at your next appointment, and for thoughts of self-harm call or text 988 in the US or your local emergency number.
What people on Reddit say
Going back up to the last dose that felt stable was the help named most often. Of 1,185 people who described coming off an SSRI or SNRI on Reddit, 64 named it, 61 named smaller steps or a liquid form and 56 a slower pace; not everyone said what helped. People who write about coming off are not typical of everyone who tapers, so these counts show what happens, not how often.
From public Reddit posts, counted by withClaro. These are self-reports, not a clinical study.
Which antidepressants come as a liquid in the US? What to do Before you start, agree with your prescriber on the first step and on how you’ll judge it. Note how you feel each day after a drop, so the next step is based on what happened. The withClaro taper calculator drafts a schedule you can take to that appointment.
Draft a taper schedule to review with your prescriber
How withClaro helps Your taper plan step by step, with the date of each drop Symptoms logged after every drop, so it’s easier to decide when to hold A PDF report of your taper for your next appointment Get the withClaro app on the App Store
Related terms Sources National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Depression in adults: treatment and management. NICE guideline [NG222]. NICE, 2022. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Medicines associated with dependence or withdrawal symptoms: safe prescribing and withdrawal management for adults. NICE guideline [NG215]. NICE, 2022. Royal College of Psychiatrists. Stopping antidepressants — information for patients and carers. Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2024. van Os J, Groot PC. Outcomes of hyperbolic tapering of antidepressants. Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology, 2023. Horowitz M, Taylor D. Distinguishing relapse from antidepressant withdrawal: clinical practice and antidepressant discontinuation studies. BJPsych Advances, 2022. Horowitz MA, Taylor D. The Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines. Wiley, 2024. All glossary terms