And everyone should have periodic reevaluations of whether or not they still need the antidepressant. That should be at least every six months to a year. As part of the reevaluation, they should be updated on side effects that are emerging, and they should have a good look at the alternative treatments to see if one of those or two of those would be better. At prescription doses, people are not using these antidepressants to get high. The better word here is dependence.
Many patients feel psychologically dependent on an antidepressant they've been on for a while.
If they have withdrawal symptoms, then there may be a component of physical dependence. Unfortunately, many pharmacists and doctors don't fully understand the withdrawal symptoms and the issues of dependence. There are a number of dangerous side effects. One is becoming suicidal on the antidepressant. Another is the symptoms of the tic disorders, for example, disfiguring facial tics like sticking out the tongue uncontrollably.