a couple of questions

Hi @Klou! Great questions. 1) I have personally never tried EMDR while tapering. I did find a topic thread about it on Surviving Antidepressants, which I will link. It can be a very intense process and is usually done for people who have traumatic memories. Some people think it may not be a good thing to undertake during withdrawal when your nervous system is so sensitive: https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/forums/topic/14238-emdr-has-anyone-tried-this-eye-movement-desensitization-reprocessing-therapy/#comment-276059 2) They key with tapering is to go at a pace where you are still able to function in your daily life. Some people do in fact feel better overall when they have less of the drug in their system, especially if that drug has been causing negative side effects. I think any hard 'work' is totally worth it in the end. My good friend says "every drop is a win!" and there is so much truth to that. Always remember the reasons why you want to become drug-free and keep that goal in mind as you make the journey off to a much better life! Everyone's journey is unique to them, so listen closely to your body and adjust your taper accordingly. You've got this, and it's nice to see you taking such a thoughtful approach! ❤️

Regarding anxiety, there are many things we can do other than CBT. Here are some helpful links: https://taper.community/thread/3613d8b1-99e9-4991-8c0d-ec96ba7534ad https://taper.community/thread/cbf196f2-7a92-460e-b78c-419887d02db2 https://taper.community/thread/edb83f43-a1eb-443d-9810-9c64f62b84e4 https://taper.community/thread/3c6f1a16-3d21-4077-9ed5-8267209ffca3 https://taper.community/thread/ec72f5e5-39fe-4f0e-b3c9-083b3e99d1c3 https://taper.community/thread/ebf43c1f-a3a0-423b-9ac2-537b3183ce70 https://taper.community/resources/blog/meditation-and-mindfulness-for-withdrawal https://taper.community/resources/blog/managing-anxiety-during-medication-tapering I hope some of these coping skills will help you with anxiety during your taper!

@Catina Thank you for sharing these resources. I will chip away at reading them. I appreciate your positive encouragement. I suspect that my medication is actually causing anxiety, so I am looking forward to getting off of it. But I know I need to have patience with the process. I will be an anxiety expert when all is said and done. Lol.

You're welcome! I hope the links help. If your medication is causing your anxiety, then reducing it should bring relief, although you might have some withdrawal symptoms along the way. It's hard to be patient. I've been at this a very long time, so I've had lots of practice with being patient! Even though it can be a difficult journey at times, we certainly learn a lot! And then we in turn can use that knowledge to help others. 💜

The symptoms usually go in waves of feeling bad, and then window of feeling good. It can be disheartening when you look at the long timeline, but the best way to chop up a stump is to chip away at the edges :) Well be here for you the whole way !

"the best way to chop up a stump is to chip away at the edges :)" — @Based Psychiatrist

I like that illustration! That's a good one.

I am about to start EMDR next week. I am pausing my taper. I had a traumatic experience in 2024. I went to therapy and was doing okay all of 2025. The beginning of 2026 I had a health scare that lasted from Feb to April and during this time all I could think about was the events of 2024. The health scare ended mid April, but I was still shaken from the reliving the memories of 2024 and I had my testosterone checked and it was on the lower end of normal and I was looking for a magic pill to jump start me and make me feel better and I went to a local TRT clinic and I did 6 weeks of weekly injections of TRT, but my anxiety got a lot worse due to the hormone fluctuations. I told the TRT clinic that I wasn't feeling better as they told me I would by week 3 and they said that I could just stop. I stopped June 10th and I went to my primary care doctor and I told them about the health scare anxiety and the mistake of trying TRT without their consent and I told them that one of my coworkers said that Lexapro really helped them and just like that they gave me a prescription for 5mg of Lexapro and said call them in 4-6 weeks and let them know how I was feeling, By weeks 4-5 I was completely emotionally number and was like a zombie. I was told to just take 2.5mg for 2 weeks and then take it every other day for 2 weeks and stop. By this time, I had started reading about tapering and I decided to go to 1.5mg after the 2 weeks at 1.5mg and I ended up staying there for 3 weeks and then I went to 1mg and by day 8 I was feeling normal, so I went to 0.75mg and then it was just like I was back in the panic of the health scare again. I tried to wait it out for a week, but it didn't let up. I went back up to 1mg and I have been there now for 2 weeks and I am going to stay at 1mg and go through EMDR to process the trauma from 2024 and the health scare of this year and then hopefully when I step down in dose again the withdrawals won't signal that intense hyper arousal in my nervous system.

"am going to stay at 1mg and go through EMDR to process the trauma" — @B81

That makes sense to pause things for awhile. Wishing you the best with your treatment.