Taper: A story of psychiatric drugs, withdrawal, and perseverance

In 2018, almost 1 in 5 adults in the United States (47.6 million people) experienced diagnosable mental illness. In 2013, 1 in 6 filed at least one prescription for psychiatric drugs. Despite the benefits of such medications, some patients decide to discontinue their use. While there are official guidelines that recommend certain taper schedules, for many patients these can often be too quick and lead to severe withdrawal symptoms that can last for weeks or even months. This film is the story of one person's journey of overcoming the many challenges of tapering antidepressants. It focuses on their personal narrative but, through a more abstract approach, it represents a much larger social and medical issue that urgently needs to be addressed. Through a combination of abstract images and archival footage, it aims to portray the emotions and psychological struggles that people tapering antidepressants experience.