"I Felt Free Again”: How Amber Anderson Eased Off Antidepressants

Amber Anderson used LYMA as a natural remedy for coming off medication for depression and found the journey far smoother.

Globally, antidepressant usage is on the rise. Statistics show that as of 2023, approximately 18% of the United States population were being treated for depression - the number of women almost double that of men. Across the Atlantic, antidepressant usage in the UK has increased for eight years consecutively; the NHS prescribing 86 million antidepressant items in 2022/23, to an estimated 8.6 million patients.

It’s indisputable that antidepressant medication benefits millions of lives the world over but a little way down the road, many people find themselves curious to wean themselves off antidepressant medication. Acclaimed stage, screen and Peaky Blinders actress, Amber Anderson felt exactly that. “Antidepressants definitely were my saving grace at one point and really helped give me my life back in so many ways; I felt more able to cope again and could be the version of myself that I'd forgotten. But a few years passed and a lot in my life had changed. I was in a much better place in my relationships and my work, and I wondered what it might be like not to take a pill every day in order to feel good. It was time to see how life felt without them.”

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“Even when an antidepressant has worked well for you and suited your body, coming off depression medication often has side effects. I knew intuitively that I wanted to do the reductions very slowly, giving my body time at each stage to get used to that new dosage, so as not to alarm my nervous system. And so I had the idea of using LYMA as a way of supplementing that process. I would take the Supplement as I was doing my dose reductions, so that I could give my body an extra level of support.”

Visiting her own doctor,* Amber discussed how she might reduce her antidepressant dosage in a safe and methodical way under continual expert medical supervision.

“I took LYMA over the course of two reductions of my dosage over about three months and I barely felt side effects.”

Natural supplements for depression also need to have proven calming properties

“It puts a huge amount of stress on your body even if you’re performing something quite light-hearted, you're still having that extremely emotionally draining experience. Last year, I was doing eight performances a week for months on end and when I came off stage my energy was so high that I often won't be able to sleep until late because my body needs to come back down to earth again after being in such a heightened state.”

In fact, such is the emotional rollercoaster of stage acting, that one medical study likened the psychological stresses performers’ bodies undergo as producing similar levels of adrenaline to those in car crashes.

“The LYMA Supplement became almost a guardian, like I had this additional layer of armor when I was putting my body through some quite emotionally varied experiences.”

“I used to have very vivid dreams as well on antidepressants”

“I've noticed that since lowering my dose and taking LYMA, I have really solid sleep now and I close my eyes only to wake up and it's morning. My sleep feels deep and heavy but good quality. I don't wake up feeling bleary-eyed, I just wake up feeling ready for the day and that is a huge change because I was used to waking up and needing an entire hour to adjust before getting out of bed.”

“It can be quite alarming when you get your nervous system into a calmer place because you're so used to being so adrenalized. In order to be able to be elastic in yourself, as an actor you have to have done so much homework and gotten to know the story and characters so well. For me, prep is everything and so I need to get my head down and do all the really boring script work and dissecting everything, as well as my other favourite bit which is the research. I've been known to read five or six books in preparation for a character. I have a pretty demanding life at the moment because I'm acting, producing and have various projects in development. Typically I might have noticed some brain fog but I’m fully present, can learn lines, work through scenes and not feel distracted by everything else going on in my life. It's not a coffee feeling where suddenly I feel like I could run up three mountains. It’s taken time for me to really enjoy feeling this calm level of focus.”

“My third and final reduction of depressant medication was done without LYMA”

“I found it much harder and so much more intense than when I'd been reducing it with the Supplement. I had about a week where I felt almost like I had the flu except I didn't have the flu. I just felt so tired and like I didn't have any bandwidth, my emotions fell all over the place. I felt really sensitive, almost vulnerable, like I didn't feel as able to cope with life. That made me realize what an amazing support the Supplement had been. I think it applies to so many types of wellbeing methods: medication supplements, fitness, even therapy that if you get to a place where you feel really good in your life, you can begin to think that you don't need natural ways to cure depression anymore because you’re fine now. You so easily forget that actually, those are the things that are helping sustain you, helping to ground you and keep you in this place of better happiness and ability and concentration.”

“I'm never going to feel shame for needing medication but I would love to use the Supplement as a way of supporting myself instead.”

“My plan is to try and come off depressant medication completely”

“Four years ago I was in a place with my anxiety and my depression where I needed medication to bring me out of it just enough, so that I could do all the other things that helped me. Now I'd love to see how it feels to not be on any medication at all. If I need it again, then that's fine but I've already reduced my depressant pill dosage three times and I'm feeling really good.”

“I think that LYMA is amazing. It offers an extra level of support and I’m more able to handle life when I’m taking it. I feel like I've got enough in my life now that will make sure that I'm okay, LYMA included.”