Psychiatric labels don’t make sense anymore (part 2)

see part 1 here

You know what I liked best about the interview I did the other day? (from 2014) I didn’t use clinical terms when I talked about mental distress…and I didn’t do that on purpose…I truly don’t think in terms of psychiatric labels anymore. They are meaningless to me and my language supports that.

a friend responded with this:

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language. And next year’s words await another voice. ― T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets

If you didn’t hear the interview it can now be listened to on youtube:

I speak about my personal recovery process from the severe iatrogenic damage the psychiatric drug withdrawal caused. (see: Monica’s story: the aftermath of polypsychopharmacology) I also speak to the need for major changes society wide in the delivery of care to those in mental distress as well as the risks involved in not making those changes. We are in the midst of an epidemic of harm.

see part 1 here

*it is potentially dangerous to come off medications without careful planning. Please be sure to be well educated before undertaking any sort of discontinuation of medications. If your MD agrees to help you do so, do not assume they know how to do it well even if they claim to have experience. They are generally not trained in discontinuation and may not know how to recognize withdrawal issues. A lot of withdrawal issues are misdiagnosed to be psychiatric problems. This is why it’s good to educate oneself and find a doctor who is willing to learn with you as your partner in care. Really all doctors should always be willing to do this as we are all individuals and need to be treated as such. See: Psychiatric drug withdrawal and protracted withdrawal syndrome round-up

It’s become clear to me that whenever it’s possible that it’s helpful for folks who’ve not begun withdrawal and have the time to consider a carefully thought out plan to attempt to bring greater well-being to your body before starting the withdrawal. That means learning how to profoundly nourish your body/mind and spirit prior to beginning a withdrawal. For suggestions on how to go about doing that check the drop-down menus on this blog for ideas. Anything that helps you learn how to live well can be part of your plan. That plan will look different for everyone as we learn to follow our hearts and find our own unique paths in the world. Things to begin considering are diet, exercise and movement, meditation/contemplation etc. Paying attention to all these things as you do them helps too. The body will start letting us know what it needs as we learn to pay attention.

For a multitude of ideas about how to create a life filled with safe alternatives to psychiatric drugs visit the drop-down menus at the top of this page.

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