Withdrawal from mood stabilizers

Anticonvulsants such as valproate and CBZ are effective mood-stabilizing agents and may be useful in withdrawal states from alcohol, BZDs, and cocaine... 

The role that dopamine plays in regulating mood and emotional stability can be at least partially grasped by examining dopamine s role in schizophrenia and drug addiction. Schizophrenia is a disorder characterized by delusions, hallucinations, withdrawal from external reality, and emotional unresponsiveness. The dopamine theory of schizophrenia, proposed in 1965, attributes the disorder to elevated brain concentrations of dopamine or to a hypersensitivity of dopaminergic receptors, especially the D2 and D4 receptor subtypes. Several drugs used to treat schizophrenic patients bind to D2 and D4 receptors and block the dopaminergic response. 

Withdrawal From Lithium and Other Mood Stabilizers... 

Withdrawing from lithium must be treated as a potentially high-risk event requiring clinical monitoring and as much family support as possible. Although the data are sparse, any drug used as a mood stabilizer should be considered a risk for causing withdrawal mania. 

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