Your antidepressant plays a VITAL part in your recovery from major depression, and you should NEVER stop taking them cold-turkey. But there ARE times when you might think about going off of them. Maybe the side effects have become unmanageable. Or your major depression is in REMISSION. Or you and your psychiatrist might decide that you don't NEED the antidepressants anymore. You may also decide to stop taking antidepressants because you're a woman who wants to or has become pregnant. Whatever is behind your decision to come off your meds, you need to end treatment SAFELY. NEVER quit taking medication abruptly, and NEVER stop medicating WITHOUT a doctor's approval. Why? Well, antidepressants regulate the levels of neurotransmitters in your brain. After a bit of time, your brain ADAPTS to the new level. If you stop taking your meds too FAST, discontinuation symptoms may occur. These symptoms may mimic symptoms of DEPRESSION and may also include other side effects such as dizziness. Abruptly stopping an antidepressant might even throw you into depression RELAPSE. To SLASH your chances of discontinuation symptoms, you need to TAPER OFF your medication. This means taking ever smaller doses over 2 to 6 weeks. Some pills can be cut in half in order to make a smaller dose, and others come in a low-dose form. Your psychiatrist will establish your tapering-off schedule based on YOUR needs. Depending on what dose you STARTED with, it might take a month to several months to safely, FULLY wean yourself off your antidepressant. To learn more about antidepressants, watch additional videos in this series.