HI,
I Have been on SSRi's on and off for about 30 years. The have frankly saved me on many occasions. I am probably very biased as i know how effective they are for me.
I am not sure i will ever stop permanently - i have sort of accepted that it was the way i was made.
As for withdrawal - yes- you do, but tapering the dose down will minimise them. The problem with stopping for me , is that my symptoms always come back-eventually and the reason i have taken them for so long is i figure why feel utterly horrendus when you don't have to and to feel well is certainly addictive.
You have to cost/benefit the situation and how that sits with you.
There is of course the persistant societal stigma about antidepressants and mental health generally. I still, after all these years don't tell many people(except maybe half a million on here!), it is almost and admission of 'failure'
But in reality it is not.
Think of it this way- if you had a chest infection would you take the antibiotics, or if you were a diabetic woudl you take the insulin.
