UPDATE: AND THIS TOO. #WORLDBENZODAY is an important move towards awareness. BUT The psych system is toxic all the way from top to bottom…which is why benzo day is only a small piece…benzos are not the problem…the system is. Psych drugs injure all manner of folks-not just benzo folks. Zyprexa, for example (a neuroleptic), has killed many thousands…far more than benzos have killed…but no one says a word because it’s given to folks who are “psychotic” and therefore, according to psychiatry, worth the risk. The Zyprexa is just an example of one of the most deadly drugs of which there is no denial because it’s well documented and yet still ignored. All the psych meds can kill and routinely do. This is a travesty!! Let us call all psychiatrists to accountability.
Articles inchronologically reverse order on BENZOS HERE.
Info page with collection on BENZO INFO here
When medicine and doctors almost kill you… Because, yeah, I was on death’s door for a long, long time. It is still traumatic to think about that time and continues to be trauma inducing in general, really. Healing takes a really long time. I do hope we can help others avoid such a fate. …
Recovery is hard. Healing is hard. It’s also beautiful. Hang in there. It gets better: The IT GETS BETTER SERIES
Video from another year … we don’t have a day for “all psych drugs are potentially gravely harmful” …so I speak to all of them including benzos in this video….:
For more information visit:
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Psychiatric drug withdrawal information and resources
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Medically induced illness: iatrogenic injury
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The anniversary posts: the 8 years off psychiatric drugs documented
- Benzodiazepine Awareness with Geraldine Burns–podcast
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AND yes, I could use some compensation for the many 100s of hours I’ve worked with folks over the years. Working like we do and not getting any sort of compensation that I might live more comfortably in the face of continued challenges continues to teach us what we’ve learned from psychiatry. We must not be worth it. Let’s change that patterning. If I helped you or a loved one out, please help me back now. thank you.
****We could use some financial support at the moment! You know, for things like the mortgage so that we can maintain a roof over our heads. Yup. I do this all for no other compensation than what the readers want to offer in support. Thank you!****
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.
Support Everything Matters: Beyond Meds. Make a donation with PayPal orEnter Amazon via a link from this blog and do the shopping you’d be doing anyway. No need to purchase the book the link takes you to. Thank you!
Monica
One last thing. You wrote:
“You might want to go see what they’re up to! Perhaps you will like their blog as much as they liked your comment!”
What do you mean “they’re up to”? Who are “they”?
“their blog” whose blog?
“they liked your comment”. Who are they?
Thanks.
That’s WordPress that’s not me talking. It is a notification telling you I “liked” your comment
Monica
Ok
Monica
Thank you especially for supporting the right to choose as well. I never got that support from “professionals” who instead further traumatized me by locking me in psychiatric hospital wards where I was abused instead of protected and where I was given a plethora of psychiatric medications.
I understand…I’m so sorry. The system is toxic all the way from top to bottom…which is why benzo day means only a tiny bit to me…benzos are not the problem…the system is. They’re poisoning all manner of folks…not just the benzo people. Psychiatry is the problem. NOT BENZOS — all the psych drugs are hurting people. Zyprexa (a neuroleptic, has killed many thousands…far more than benzos have killed…but no one says a word because it’s given to folks who are “psychotic” and therefore, according to psychiatry, worth the risk.
Dear Monica
I agree it is not just benzodiazepines but all psychiatric drugs including Zyprexa which was also prescribed for me, and especially the broken system itself.
So how do we alter, change and/or abolish the system?? I think many people in MIA and other advocates are extremely naive if they think anything will change the “system” we have.
I know partly because I was part of the system for 10 years teaching medical school and doing research/writing grants in a psychiatry department and then for 13 years working for various
pharmaceutical companies in a scientific capacity, involved in summarizing research from clinical trials of non-psychiatric medications.
The ethical misbehavior, ability to avoid scientific issues, poor research, the quest for money and power by men in power was astonishing to me, and I wasn’t even dealing with research involving psychiatric medications. I saw the same thing in psychiatrists whether male or female.
You may say I am too pessimistic, however if you or any advocates feel they or a combination of advocates will really change a psychiatric system dominated by men who relie on the system for their wealth and power aave the support of very large professional organizations and very powerful and wealthy pharmaceutical companies with highly paid attornies I feel you are beyond optomistic, especially when the advocates are considered psychiatrically ill or “antipsychiatry” by these people/organizations and society in general, IMO.
I’m not trying to change the system I’m trying to raise awareness so that people will be able to emancipate themselves from the system as I have done. I think the system is completely and totally unsalvageable. I was a social worker for 15 years in the system I saw the drug is killing my clients. I learned what I could and I now speak openly about how toxic the system is. I don’t really care how change comes I personally work for emancipation and working completely outside of the system. There are people who understand how messed up it is that work within the system but that takes a special kind of person I have no interest in doing that. Also most of the people I know don’t think Psychiatry can be saved but given it’s an established reality walking a delicate line seems to work for political purposes and for communications sake. If someone feels they are benefiting from psychiatry I do not feel that it’s my right to tell them what to do — in fact I find that to be a violence just like when Psychiatry told me what to do. First and foremost I respect the autonomy of every individual and holding the complexity of this issue is not an easy thing, that is true
Monica
Thanks I understand where you are coming from now because you played a therapeutic role in the system and were financially able to get out of it when you saw it was not working.
You look fairly young from your picture. So what do we do with, and how do we help older people like myself who found you and others after they were injuried by the system based on medications and diagnoses they were forced into by their parents when they were young
and feel very bad/guilty
about finally seeing the truth about how they were treated and didn’t feel safe/able to leave the system much earlier. I don’t mean to be disrespectful or confrontational but I hope you can support yourself solely doing this blog without other financial support. I have actually donated money to your efforts. How do people like myself (and many others) emancipate themselves from the damage that has already been done to them and have looked for help in many ways but couldn’t find help when they needed it most? How are we supposed to support ourselves financially in the long term?
We are totally broke and scrambling to make our monthly payments. I have never made any money off of this work and I worked as much as 80 hours a week. ( I actually did that while I was bedridden I haven’t done it for a long time now) I have been blessed with some large donations a few times but that certainly has not supported me over the last 10 years that I’ve been doing this work. Not by a long shot. I’m also 54. I am not very young. At this juncture there’s not a whole lot we can do for all of us together enmass. We are needing to create something from scratch and what I propose in everything that I present here is that we all work on creating our own communities. We are on the frontier this is not something that exists yet. what we need does not exist yet. It’s up to all of us to create and exchange information on how we’re doing that and that is what this website is all about that is all I do is offer my experience and also share that of other people like us who are finding their way. Anyway this basic thesis runs throughout this entire site. I only see myself as an educator and one to exchange information with others. We are all needed to do this work
Monica
I understand. Thanks.
Oh and I do not find you too pessimistic whatever that means. You sound pretty rational and logical to me. I’m all over the map I can put myself into a lot of different perspectives and Frames. it’s a blessing and a curse I would say
Yes I understand, however please realize we are all different with different experiences and after many many years of being disabled (I am now a 66 year old male who was a professional who has tried to heal using multiple modalities) I no longer feel I am on a “healing journey”. However, I have just donated you a few dollars so that you can help prevent what has happened to me from happening to others. Sincerely, Zsdman
a.k.a Zelig Dolinsky, Ph.D.
yeah, got it. that’s all I write about Dear zs…we’re all different! and I’m sorry you feel that you can no longer heal. Your hope for others is a deeply healing attitude IMO. Again, much love and many thanks.
Dear zelig, I have never been one to say we all recover. In fact the concept of recovery is problematic to me who wants to go backwards anyway? Learning better ways of coping seems to just be something that happens and that seems to be healing even if it’s all we’re doing. That said I’ve also been in this long enough that I have seen many friends die and clients before my friends were also dying. I don’t have a crystal ball and neither do you and until our life is over we don’t know what’s going to happen and that’s all I’m speaking to. I do think there are many beautiful things about life and that’s the only reason I’m still here even while I hurt very very badly a good part of the time. So many suicides among our folks and I continue to support the right to choose that as well.
Dear Monica:
Please realize some of us are unable to heal from the long term prescribed use of benzodiazepines and other psychiatric medications often used together. I have tried many unsuccessful times to taper from benzodiazepine (Klonopin) use as well as to quickly stop other psychiatric drugs as instructed to do so by ignorant and uninformed “professionals”. These drugs have destroyed my life since I was once a successful professional and am now disabled and suffer greatly.
ah…healing is always possible…but yeah, we can heal and be healing and still be really fucking bad off in a whole lot of ways…I won’t deny that. It’s my fucking life…I’m not all better…nothing like that. Don’t misunderstand that please or you’re like everyone else I have to deal with in the world who has never been drug injured.
to be clear…I see healing as the potential awakening journey we are all on regardless of physical limitations … much love to you. xo
Healing as opposed to curing – Everything Matters: Beyond Meds https://beyondmeds.com/2015/01/14/healing-curing/