A political editor has opened up on his two-year fight against the “toxic grip” of antidepressants.

Liam Thorp, of the Liverpool Echo, has opened up on his mental health battle in a bid to help others facing a similar situation.

Liam, pictured, began taking an antidepressant called SSRI two years ago after some “difficult personal circumstances” led to his mental heal taking “a bit of a nosedive”.

In a piece about his struggle, headlined ‘The potentially toxic grip of antidepressants and how I broke free’, Liam praised “understanding” bosses at the Echo who allowed him time off work and told of how initially his mood lifted after he began taking the drug.

He wrote: “But then I was unlucky again. I had relocated and changed my GP and unfortunately the new practice I was registered with basically made it impossible for me to see a doctor.

“Life got in the way and I stupidly didn’t get round to changing my doctor, meaning that two years later I was still taking the drugs.

“After finding them initially helpful in lifting my mood, I started to feel like the tablets were disagreeing with me, I was suffering with dizziness, shortness of breath and – ironically – some pretty low moods. I was quite keen to stop and see if I would now be better off without them.

“I had read online (because I couldn’t get an appointment) that withdrawing from SSRIs needed to be done gradually to avoid damaging withdrawal symptoms. But trying to do this without speaking to a professional directly was a really bad idea.

Added Liam: “My attempts to reduce the tablets failed spectacularly and led to a grim range of physical and mental effects including panic and anxiety attacks, powerful mood swings, stomach cramps and painful headaches. I basically passed out a couple of times.

“In short, it didn’t go well – and I was stupid for trying to do it myself.”

Liam was finally able to get an appointment with a GP three months ago after changing doctor again, and has now come off the tablets altogether after working out a strict schedule for reducing his dosage.

He said: “There were no side effects and I’m in really good shape. I was keen to write down my experiences just in case it could help anyone who might currently find themselves in a similar situation where the grip of antidepressants and a lack of support can lead to you feeling trapped and anxious about what to do.

“My fairly basic advice would be to find a GP surgery that works for you as soon as possible, one where you can actually speak to someone who will tell you if you are ready to reduce your dose and if so, how to do this safely.

“It is certainly the best place to start.”

Liam is one of a number of regional press journalists in recent years to have opened up on his mental health in a bid to help others.

He told HTFP: “As journalists in the public eye we are very much used to dealing with criticism and trolling – so when opening up about something personal like this I was prepared for the worst.

“But the reaction has been pretty much nothing but positive and most importantly for me there have been people getting in touch to say they found the article helpful in their own mental health situations, which is all I was after.

“I’m grateful to the Liverpool Echo for giving me the platform to get the message out – and for being so supportive and understanding during the more difficult moments I have had.”