Surviving Withdrawal

August 25, 2026

I currently arrived on a cruise 3 days ago and the early morning wake-up and trip to the airport and the check in and all was too much on my psyche. Once on the plane I began to experience a lot of anxiety and some palpitations and had to get out of my seat to walk around. Eventually it passed but was pretty alarming since that has never happened to me. But it maybe has to do with my sensitive nervous system reacting to my stressful morning! I came through it but have thoughts of it happening again on my return trip home?

Paxil — 5mg — 20+ — reinstated | without clinician

5 Replies

⭐

CatinaAug 25

Community AnchorEffexor

I'm sorry this happened to you! It's funny you mentioned this because the exact same thing happened to me when my husband and I went on a cruise. The first couple days were rough with so much anxiety. After things got settled I was able to enjoy myself a bit more. During withdrawal our nervous system is extremely sensitive, especially to stress! Try to get some quiet time to yourself where you can just rest and chill. Enjoy your trip as best as you can!

Venlafaxine (tapering) - Current dose 17.28 mg
Trazodone - 50 mg
Synthroid - 25 mcg

“Your brain and body know how to heal. Trust the process and keep going.”

Please Note: I am not a healthcare professional. Any advice given is based on personal experience and that of others in the lay withdrawal community.

⭐

BasedStaffAug 26

Community AnchorEffexor

Catina nailed it, your nervous system is running on high alert right now and travel stress hits it differently. That panic on the plane is a classic withdrawal amplification, not a sign of something new. The anticipatory anxiety about the return trip is also super common, try not to feed it, just know you got through this one and that is real evidence. Enjoy the cruise, the settling usually happens by day three or four.

Creator of Taper Community, here to help you.

WolfAug 26

Community AnchorProzac · researching

The awareness that I am trapped onboard and not in some safe place would make me extra anxious.

Prozac — 40 mg — 6 months — holding | Zyprexa — 20 mg — 6 years — holding | Depakote — 600 mg — 8 months — **tapering** | Buspirone — 20 mg — 8 months — holding | with clinician
"If life is painful, start a rebellion and make it good."

WolfAug 26

Community AnchorProzac · researching

You can plan things for you to wake up without an alarm clock and only take on just a single big task every day, that should help.

Peggy WallaceSep 27

NavigatorCymbalta · holding

Really good advice above. Just this morning my nervous system reminded me about its fragility in this withdrawal time.

In my life, have been on Prozac, Wellbutrin, Amytriptiline, Ambien, Seroquel, Zoloft, pamelor, Nortriptiline, Clonazepam, Suboxone (for insomnia), Effexor, Valium, Trazadone, Zanax, and Gabapentin. These, I remember.
Currently on,Duloxetine 60 mg — 2 yr — holding | without clinician

Join the conversation

Need a clinician who understands tapering?

Browse our map of deprescribing-informed providers worldwide.

Find a Deprescriber