■ THREE-QUARTERS

of people on antidepressants don’t receive enough help when coming off them, a study has found. Since 2021, GPs have been advised that patients who stop taking the pills should be monitored for months, following concerns about prolonged withdrawal effects including panic attacks and suicidal thoughts. But the study, by the University of East London and University College London, found 72 per cent of 1,200 polled said details about withdrawal were ‘unhelpful’. Some said GPs didn’t even tell them to stop taking the drugs gradually, as guidance states.