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    Science FridayWhat Do We Know About SSRI Antidepressant Withdrawal?
    18 minEpisode 1134

    What Do We Know About SSRI Antidepressant Withdrawal?

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    Roughly 1 in 10 Americans take antidepressants. The most common type is SSRIs, or selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, like Prozac, Lexapro, and Zoloft. But what happens when you stop taking them? Studies don’t point to a single conclusion, and there’s ongoing debate among physicians and patients about the severity and significance of SSRI withdrawal symptoms. The discourse reached a fever pitch when Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

    Host Flora Lichtman digs into the data on SSRI withdrawal with psychiatrists Awais Aftab and Mark Horowitz.

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    © Science Friday and WNYC StudiosLength 18 min2 October 2025Episode 1134ScienceFactsEducationalUSAEpisodic

    Agricultural Bees, China’s Energy Future, Frankenstein In Class. Feb 2, 2018, Part 1

    Agricultural Bees, China’s Energy Future, Frankenstein In Class. Feb 2, 2018, Part 1

    This is an episodic podcast, so you can listen to it in any order, but episode one is a great place to start.

    Listen to episode one here
    11+ScienceFactsEducationalUSAEpisodic2 October 2025© Science Friday and WNYC Studios

    Roughly 1 in 10 Americans take antidepressants. The most common type is SSRIs, or selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, like Prozac, Lexapro, and Zoloft. But what happens when you stop taking them? Studies don’t point to a single conclusion, and there’s ongoing debate among physicians and patients about the severity and significance of SSRI withdrawal symptoms. The discourse reached a fever pitch when Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. compared SSRI withdrawal to heroin withdrawal in January.

    Host Flora Lichtman digs into the data on SSRI withdrawal with psychiatrists Awais Aftab and Mark Horowitz.

    Guests: Dr. Awais Aftab is a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University.

    Dr. Mark Horowitz is a clinical research fellow in the UK’s National Health Service and scientific co-founder of Outro Health.

    Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

    Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374

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    © Science Friday and WNYC Studios |Original Episode URL. The content, artwork and advertising within this podcast is not owned or affiliated with Sound Carrot and remain the property of their respective owners.


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