This was first published on David Healy’s site, RxIsk: Making Medicine’s Safer for All of Us, about 4 years ago. I’ve never published it on this site and thought I’d do so now so that it will be part of the archives here as well. It’s a memoir of sorts up to that point 4 years ago.
My husband, Paul Woodward, who has published quite a few essays on this blog, sometimes sends emails to me about his thoughts on my (and therefore, often, our) circumstance. Sometimes he’s incredibly helpful and insightful both. I’m sharing what he wrote to me yesterday. The below is most of the body of an email. I’ve edited out a couple of sentences that were directed to me more personally at the beginning and the end. Most of it is just as it was written. As way of introduction to those who perhaps are not familiar with this blog, the autonomic nervous system injury that Paul is referring to in myself is the one incurred by psychiatric drugs and their withdrawal. It is essentially a sort of chemical and pharmaceutical and, therefore, iatrogenic brain injury. It’s often referred to as psychiatric drug withdrawal syndrome and in some people can be a severe and debilitating condition. … [click on title to read and view more]
When you reduce or quit a psychiatric drug, you may experience withdrawal symptoms.
Withdrawal symptoms are due to an absence of a medication at a level to which your body has become accustomed. They are an adverse effect of psychiatric drug use. When the level of the drug is reduced, your body notices it and tries to compensate, creating withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawing faster will increase withdrawal symptoms….
There are lots more tools and methods of support to browse in the drop-down menus at the top of this site — don’t limit yourself to this page. This site is now 11 years running and there are more than 5,000 posts. Many of those best suited to support you are found in the drop-down… Continue Reading →
This is a copy of the original post that’s located in the drop-down menus at the top of this page. This page is regularly updated. Below the initial commentary is a collection of links with lots of information to better inform the reader on psychiatric drug withdrawal. Educating oneself and preparing for a safer taper… Continue Reading →
Dr. Joanna Moncrieff, psychiatrist and senior lecturer, University College London on video. — Also more collected info. We to be aware of the risk so that every reasonable precaution can be made to avoid potentially serious issues. In the interest of informed consent we need to know what the risks are. Many psychiatrists are not telling people about these risks.
These are links to a few articles on gun violence and psychiatry from this site. Yes, they’re pretty clearly connected but we live in a world in which it’s members are encouraged to keep their heads up a small, dark, tight canal in the bottom half of the body. …
I’ve added a “protracted withdrawal” link to the drop-down menus above. I wanted to call attention to it and so I’m also sharing a bit of correspondence I recently had with an injured comrade with protracted withdrawal syndrome below. …
Many lives have been harmed by psychiatry. Too many people have been abused, sickened, disabled (and died too) by psychiatry and no one takes responsibility for it and most of society refuses to acknowledge it’s happening. It’s time to end such treatment and trauma. Psychiatric drugs cover up pre-existing trauma and then deeply ingrain that… Continue Reading →
There are quite a few relatively mainstream doctors now talking about the harms of benzodiazepines and anti-depressants on social media. As usual other psychiatric drugs (neuroleptics, anti-convulsants, — called anti-psychotics and mood stabilizers, etc) are given short shrift. This is about informed consent. If people don’t know about the very serious potential risks involved in… Continue Reading →
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