If you start taking a drug that modifies how your body works, isn't it logically obvious that if you STOP taking that drug, your body will revert to it's previous state and that state change will likely be negative, therefor you're withdrawaling?
For example, if you drink a lot, some normal neural pathways are repressed by the regular presence of alcohol and your body compensates by increasing the affected neurotransmitters (GABA in this case). As a result, when you stop drinking, you have a corresponding oversupply of GABA, causing the physical symptoms of Delirium Tremens.
I was on Lexapro for 3 years. When I tapered off according to the standard protocol (already in place to avoid withdrawal issues), I experienced debilitating vertigo symptoms and had to change my process from a 2 week reduction to a 3 month process. It was intense.
>you have a corresponding oversupply of GABA
Isn't it the other way around? I had thought that alcohol was a GABA agonist, so your body adapts to produce less of it. Then when you stop, you're _undersupplied_ which produces the DTs.
Withdrawal symptoms come into play in the case of addictions as well. It can be dangerous to suddenly stop taking an addictive substance. You may have heard the phrase "cold turkey": that refers to withdrawal symptoms.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_turkey
The body is not a state machine with trivial logical properties!
Static electricity in the brain is a weird and painful experience. That said, it wouldn't stop me from going back on it if I had to.
Lowering the dose one-sixth at a time every four weeks is the right approach. It gives your neurons time to get accustomed to the lowered serotonin levels by slowly increasing the number of available receptors.