Experts warn against stopping psychiatric drugs during summer vacations

During the summer months many patients consider pausing antidepressants, anxiolytics or mood stabilisers, believing that sunshine and holidays can replace medication. Psychiatrists stress that this belief is a myth and advise against unsupervised discontinuation.

International clinical guidelines, including those of the American Psychiatric Association and NICE, state that any change in psychiatric medication must be based on the patient’s clinical stability, not on the season. Abrupt cessation can trigger withdrawal symptoms such as dizziness, insomnia, anxiety, irritability, nausea and sensory disturbances, which are often mistaken for a new depressive episode.

A review in The Lancet Psychiatry by Mark Horowitz and David Taylor found that most antidepressants should be tapered gradually to minimise withdrawal. Similar evidence from studies coordinated by psychopharmacology expert Ross Baldessarini shows that sudden stopping of antipsychotics or mood stabilisers markedly raises the risk of relapse. Clinicians therefore recommend a medically supervised, gradual taper rather than an unscheduled holiday break.