Psychiatric drug withdrawal information and resources .. 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 goes a long way in mitigating the risk of serious protracted withdrawal issues. NEW: Psychiatric drug withdrawal: preparation for before... Continue Reading →
Healing from this particular form of iatrogenic injury is a shocking process. It is shocking by nature of the fact that one of the hallmarks of this brain injury is a deep and profound neurological terror. This terror, held in the autonomic nervous system, manifests in a myriad number of forms from individual to individual.
The practice of being with all that arises within. Fear here can be translated to "anxiety," which is the clinical term for fear which everyone at one time or another experiences with or without a diagnosis of some sort of anxiety "disorder." Psychiatry pathologizes much of the normal human experience and fear and/or anxiety often referred to in Buddhism as such. Normal. There are techniques to learn how to be with these normal feelings, whether they're very intense or not. -- And boy does protracted psych drug withdrawal open the floodgates of fear and terror and trauma, like nothing else. It’s not like anything natural that occurs before drug damage as those of us gravely impacted discover. But even with this sort of iatrogenic damage I’ve found that the best solution is to treat it like all the rest. I’ve decided that in the end, it’s the same thing as though on steroids. … [click on title to read and view more]
This link is important to know about for many chronic conditions. -- I have lived experience of this reality. I know it. Immune system and nervous system are totally linked...I can feel it. -- Folks in the chronic illness circles are all saying the same thing as well...we feel it...and those of us with protracted psychiatric drug withdrawal issues are also impacted...This is not news to us. Still, it's important information for the scientific and medical communities. … [click on title for the rest of the post]
I have a friend who studies the neurology of awakening to the nature of reality and consciousness. He often has said to me that the brain remembers the good stuff. This is another way of thinking of neuroplasticity. If we get to a place where we accept and are okay with things just as they are, our brain likes that...it remembers and does all it can to get back there. In this way we can trust that if we do things to help us accept and find goodness in life, even now, in the darkness, our brain will, in effect continue to conspire to get to those glimmers of hope and joy we sometimes see and feel. … [click on title for the rest of the post]
I've been inspired by Deena Metzger for many years now. I have often returned to some of her words that I've shared on this blog as I've gone through my process of listening to my illness so that I might grow and heal with it, rather than fighting it. In the interview with Tami Simon from Sounds True she goes deep into what this means for her and it's deeply resonant with my own experience.
Among other things Deena speaks to the issue of iatrogenic illness. Medically induced injury, in other words. The issue that I and so many who read this blog face in a giant way through protracted withdrawal syndrome, a sometimes gravely disabling illness caused by the use and withdrawal of psychiatric drugs. … [click on title for the rest of the post]
Someone in a linked in group responded to this post on the nature of withdrawal syndrome with what I call an "aggressive positivity" comment. They suggested those harmed by drugs are doing no one a favor by telling the truth. They are in fact being "negative" and should instead concentrate on healing. .… [click on title for the rest of the post]
Last week Matt Samet posted about a setback he's recently had. The withdrawal ugliness which had largely abated came crashing back after several years of wellness. I made some comments about that in a post that linked to his.
What I didn't say is that I've had my own setback recently too. Setbacks for me remain routine and normal...they are part of the excruciatingly non-linear process of recovery. I've not yet experienced anything resembling full functionality, but I do have periods of time where I start to imagine what that might be like again as I'm able to do a bit more than usual. So, these setbacks, while becoming less intense in many ways are always hugely discouraging still. … [click on title to read and view more]
A long time friend/reader who is still in the worst ugly phase of protracted withdrawal sent me a note the other day. In it he was talking about how he could not come to terms with everything he'd lost. He cannot stop grieving. He feels cheated. He had been an athlete and competent parent and a successful professional in his field. He was prescribed a benzodiazepine for a first time incident with acute anxiety (had no history of prior psychiatric issues or treatment). He took said benzo for only 2 months and he was one of the not unheard of number of folks who react as if they've been on meds for decades, like me, when he discontinued it. He's been ill for 5 years now and is unable to work, parent in a meaningful way or exercise. I understand his sense of loss. It is nothing short of completely devastating. I still struggle with not being able to do many things people generally take for granted as well. I still am learning what I shared with him. … [click on title for the rest of the post]
I have for a long time realized that protracted psych drug withdrawal issues are pretty much always a result of autonomic nervous system dysfunction. As I became seriously ill, I discovered that other chronic illnesses (in particular CFS, fibromyalgia and various autoimmune issues) have a lot of the same things going on. I came to think that withdrawal IS THE TRAUMATIC and LONG TERM TRIGGER that ends up bringing on a serious long-term disability that has many common issues with these other chronic syndromes. Dan Neuffer, in the videos below, in my opinion, correctly points to the autonomic nervous system as being underlying ongoing cause of these issues. Triggers and initial etiologies may vary, but eventually all these syndromes have a whole lot in common. ...
You must be logged in to post a comment.