Does Lexapro withdrawal lead to depression?

[BigGreenLeaves]

I took Lexapro for 6-7 years off and on for anxiety.  This year I decided to take a break and see if I could live without it.  In February I started titrating off of it very slowly.  Was completely off by mid-April.  Initially, I did a lot of crying - every day.  It's been 3.5 months now, and I am really struggling with feelings of sadness.  True, I've had some sad life events in the past several years (parents died, divorce) but I have never had a problem with depression before.  I'm taking several supplements but every day is a real challenge.  I just don't see the point of living.  This is NOT ME.  Has anyone else gone through this?  

[Paxiled]

Yes, that is a sign of withdrawal.  Trouble is, it can also be a sign of depression newly developed.  But when it follows pretty closely quitting one of these meds, it's probably not a coincidence.  

[AnxiousNoMore]

Depression and anxiety are connected and make the other worse. You noticed anxiety before but is there any chance you were also depressed but missed noticing it because of focusing on the anxiety? That happened to me and until my anxiety was under control i thought I didn't have a depression problem until my doctor pointed it out.
You wanted to try living without it but does it seem that it helped you while you were on it since you never experienced the unhappy thoughts?