I've been on antidepressants for three years and recently tried tapering off with my doctor's help. The withdrawal was brutal—brain zaps, mood swings, and this weird electric feeling that made me question if I was ready. But now that I'm off them, I'm wondering: did the medication actually fix my depression, or just mask the symptoms long enough for me to develop better coping skills? I read a study that found therapy combined with meds has better long-term outcomes than either alone, but I didn't do therapy consistently. Can we ever truly know if psychiatric medication heals the underlying issue or if it's just a temporary band-aid that we mistake for recovery?