@grandmar
Brain zaps are a common antidepressant discontinuation symptom described by patients taking venlafaxine, duloxetine, citalopram and paroxetine. Anxiety medications and sleeping pills that target GABA also appear to be linked to brain zaps. The symptom is described variously as “an electrical, shock–like sensation in the brain,” “the sensation of the brain shivering,” “brain zaps,” “brain shocks,” “brain shivers,” “head shocks,” or “cranial zings.” The "brain shivers," or electric shock-like sensations are not dangerous, but can be unpleasant. They can happen frequently enough to disrupt daily life, or quality of life. Some are confined to the brain, or head; in other cases, they begin there, but spread out to other parts of the body. Sometimes moving one's eyes quickly from side to side can trigger brain zaps. Sometimes brain zaps are accompanied by disorientation, tinnitus, vertigo and lightheadedness.