Stories of healing and transformation
This post may be cut and pasted in its entirety and shared without further permission.
These are all stories of recovery (or the word I prefer is transformation) that involve freedom from drugs/medications. Most everyone on these pages were told they would need psychiatric drugs for the rest of their lives and proved psychiatry sorely wrong.
There are MORE healing/transformation STORIES HERE — specific to extreme states such sometimes labeled psychosis, with accompanying books and websites for further reading.
Are you recovered? What is your survivor mission? —Inspiring pieces from Pat Deegan’s life (also recovered)
Recovery Stories listed below:
New stories are now added at the top of list so if you visit again they’ll be easy to find
Monica’s story: the aftermath of polypsychopharmacology – this is my story up to 2012, when it was published on Dr. David Healy’s website. The transformation has continued.
This is mini memoir at Mad in America: Everything Matters: a Memoir From Before, During and After Psychiatric Drugs — from a few years ago now. Healing has since snowballed.
- Thirty Months Off – Renée is drug free and getting healthier everyday
- Benzodiazepine withdrawal story. Through hell and out the other side
- It feels so great to be off psych meds: a recovery story by Corinna West
- Psychosis, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Story as a Vehicle of Healing
- Pray, cry, scream, kick, write, whatever it takes, do not be silent, let it out. Benzodiazepine withdrawal recovery story
- Remember my friend Amy who was close to death? She is now thriving
- Jazz in Pieces Medication Madness — Epilogue and update: BIPOLAR off meds success NEW — the epilogue, that is (Jazz is UNDIAGNOSED by the MD)
- The beginning of emergence for Susan, finding faith and hope…she was not permanently broken
- Withdrawal from antidepressant leads to spiral into polydrugging, until Molly realizes that drugs are the problem and emerges victorious
- The Power Behind my Bipolar Part 1 and Part 2
- A recovery from benzos–into severe benzo illness and out
- The following is by a blogger called BipolarLife. He is currently happy and med free.
- Hope, Time and Love; three guardian angels, Alternative Routes to Recovery — Grainne Humphrys
- Ted Chabasinski’s story of survival
- Caty’s Story–a recovery story through peer support and the Freedom Center
- Decolonizing our minds: Freeing our spirits — Guest Blogger Leah Harris
- Cindy’s Story of Recovery —A journey of healing through food and Chinese Medicine
- Recovery through mind training —a journey of meditation in Buddhism—By Sally Clay
- Jim Gottstein’s recovery story —The story of a successful human rights attorney
- Another Cindy’s Story of Recovery — (Long term benzo addiction which led to other drugs) Journey of nutrition, holistic care and energy work
- Jim S Story of Recovery
- Will Hall’s Story of Recovery
- “undiagnosed’s” Story of Recovery—more stories by the same author here.
- Shelby’s story of recovery
- Mania as Spiritual Emergency
- Sean’s youtube odyssey of recovery from a spiritual emergency — (bipolar or waking up)
- To hell and back–Thor Nystrom’s story of psych drugs treatment as a teenager
- A method of recovery discovered by Jayme — How I Deal with Mental Breakdowns
- The Wind Never Lies — Steve Morgan’s Recovery Story
- A Catalog of Recovery Stories
Here are some more recent posts on the author’s healing journey:
Psychiatric drug withdrawal: preparation for before you begin
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Detoxification (which is really about balancing the internal ecosystem): healthy living for body/mind/spirit
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Forms of dissociation are common to all human beings
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Chronic illness is trauma embodied
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healing is about letting the wisdom of the body re-emerge (and other reflections)
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Surrender more. Seek less.
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Working with “parts” and “subpersonalities” as we come to consciousness and heal
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Stop. Trying. To. Fix. Yourself.
There are MORE RECOVERY STORIES HERE — specific to extreme states such as psychosis, with accompanying books and websites for further reading.
New video: Coming Off Psychiatric Drugs: A Harm Reduction Approach | Will Hall
See also: the “It Gets Better” Series if you’re sick and in the midst of psychiatric drug withdrawal
More posts on psychiatric drug withdrawal:
*it is potentially dangerous to come off medications without careful planning. See: Psychiatric drug withdrawal and protracted withdrawal syndrome round-up
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.
● Online Support in Withdrawal
See also: Peer support? This is the real thing. Free of institutionalization. (psych drug withdrawal)
Visit the Beyond Meds BOOKSTORE
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Everything Matters 
Over 40 years, I had made it my business to understand what it was that led to successful learning. However, until I experienced the delights of a brief psychotic episode towards the end of my teaching career, I had no idea how effective trauma can be in enlightening the mind. It did help that I had an enquiring mind, keen to assimilate / accommodate any amount of new experiences, however bizarre these appeared. (The Germans distinguish here between Erfahrungen and Erlebnisse – the latter being closer to the traumatic variety). Psychiatrists counselled me to reject these experiences, because, they felt, they belonged to a fantasy-world which, if pursued, would only lead to insanity. Forever the rebel, I chose to ignore the professionals and gradually learned to embrace this so-called psychosis, allowing my soul to migrate into what appeared to be parallel universes and a form of time-travel. (Metempsychosis describes the transmigration of the soul, though I never felt I had taken on any form other than a human alter ego). All-in-all, I feel my choice was the right one, since I think the way I now see the world is far more circumspect than it ever was in the past. I have managed my bipolar condition without the need for medication for the past eleven years.
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Thank you so much for these recovery stories. I’ve been looking for things like this for years. I even started a blog called The After Life to attempt to explain to other what it’s like to live after meds, hospitals and doctors…because I’d read so few success stories- it was like no one ever wrote about what happened “after.” I’ve been in the ‘after life’…recovery life…for a year now and it’s such a different place it’s nice to hear about others as well!!!
So thanks!!!
🙂
Erin
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Nice to see you here John.
thanks for your comment.
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Gianna – Thanks so much for gathering these different stories. I couldn’t agree with you more about the need to look at everyone’s path. I can’t tolerate all the angry proselytizing that goes on by people who have made some progress and believe their path is the only way to do it. I look forward to following this page.
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