Wash-out as a Diagnostic Signal: Interpreting Symptom Trajectories After Treatment Withdrawal in Complex Adaptive Systems. Evidence Note — URM Series.

This Evidence Note interprets wash-out after treatment withdrawal as a diagnostic signal rather than a neutral absence of treatment. Within the Universal Resonance Model (URM), post-withdrawal symptom trajectories are understood as indicators of system stability, adaptive reserve, coupling strength, and transition risk. The note argues that rapid relapse, delayed relapse, sustained benefit, and rebound should not be treated as equivalent outcomes. Instead, their timing and trajectory may distinguish symptomatic suppression from durable stabilization, fragile control from autonomous stability, and relapse from broader system transition. The purpose is to support more precise interpretation of treatment discontinuation, tapering, relapse timing, neuromodulation effects, rehabilitation durability, and clinical trial wash-out phases.