Tapering off Lexapro after 12 years - Need advice!

Yeah, I’ve thought of those points too. First reason was that I thought I could be better about behavioral changes and that maybe that could stave off the depression . So I cut out processed foods, starting doing weight bearing exercise 3x a week, and getting a min full 7 hours of sleep. Second reason was a didn’t want to be dependent on the drugs if I didn’t have to. Cuz if I skipped 2 days of Lexapro, I didn’t feel like myself. Third was the long-term effects of Lexapro use isn’t researched a bunch and pharma underreports inconvenient data. Fourth I wanted to try psilocybin without risk of serotonin overdose. And fifth, I think I was more jumpy on the SSRIs. There’s a part of myself that I think is more calm not being on them. But that could’ve been the depression just mellowing me out. I might have just rambled there too:/

Why did you decide to taper off? I've recently accepted that I might just take psych meds for the rest of my life. Not everyone has Depression and Anxiety but the people who do, if they take meds for it, there's not much reason for them not to imo, in order to keep up with everyone else and to enjoy life. For me it's impossible to imagine not having depression and anxiety, but there are a lot of people who don't need meds because they don't have it, and the flip side is the people who do sometimes just need the meds for the rest of their life. I hope that makes sense and that I'm not just rambling.

Hi cool cucumber, I’m currently on lexapro but have also been on Zoloft. With Zoloft, it was easy for me to stop taking them indefinitely, but with lexapro, it was a lot more difficult. I experienced a lot of side effects and was generally in a worse mood than if I had been taking lexapro.

Dang, I'm sorry to hear that dear. Even though you tapered it off, SSRI's do have a tendency to have withdrawal symptoms. I understand this completely. I was having major withdrawals about a week and a half ago. It will get better though 💗