Tag: psychiatric drug withdrawal

Surviving antidepressants (and psychiatric drugs in general)

Those of us who've spent hundreds of hours with thousands of people coming off drugs still have the most reliable information available for the time being. This is an instance in which "peers" simply have more information than anyone else. Not only have we lived it but we've watched many others do the same. Alto Strata has been doing this for many years and has amassed a knowledge base that is truly impressive. … [click on the title to read and view more]

Oliver Sacks, the autonomic nervous system, and psychiatric drug withdrawal syndrome

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]

It Gets Better: the series

The It Gets Better Series -- Last year for several weeks I republished old posts from the days when I was bedridden and unable to speak. I posted them with the contrast of the current commentary that reflected how much health I have found in the last few years of coming back from a severe iatrogenic injury caused by psychiatric drugs. Today I'm collecting those posts so that I can add this page to the drop-down navigation menu. When I put it into the archives above I will title it "The It Gets Better Series." So that is what you will want to look for in the future. For now I've given it a different title because I wanted to underscore the fact that this blog has helped me in profound ways too. It's never been a one way street. … [click on title to view more]

Between Heaven and Earth – Full Qigong Practice Session

Yesterday I did two posts on trauma and learning to heal from that through body practices. I talk about yoga and ecstatic dance in those posts. Qigong is another practice that can help profoundly. I love that there is simply a huge multitude of methods to heal so that everyone can find what resonates and works for them personally. Of course that is a challenge for (some) professionals who always want to believe that what they have training in is what is appropriate for everyone. This is of course why the mental health system doesn't work so well. I take great delight in the incredibly diverse healing body/mind. I've been practicing Qigong from time to time lately and really love it too though I am very much a beginner still. It's an incredibly powerful energy mover and so I do have to take it slow and carefully simply because it impacts the autonomic nervous system so profoundly and that is what is most impacted by the iatrogenic injury I'm healing from (psychiatric drug withdrawal syndrome). Psychiatric drug withdrawal syndrome is among other things also an incredibly traumatic event and therefore a lot of methods that help heal trauma also help heal this medically induced iatrogenic injury. … [click on title to read and view more]

Fear is life force… (in clinical circles it’s often called anxiety)

I am, now, grateful that I was forced onto what was often a heinously difficult path that psych drug withdrawal created because in the end, it was the only way for me to truly and deeply heal. The drugs weren't just a dead end for me, they were slowly driving me downhill to my spiritual death. Getting off that ugly merry-go-round involved facing far worse in the short term but on the other side now, I see a freedom that simply wouldn't have been possible if I'd stayed on those drugs. My experience is shared by many others. Again, if it's not resonant for someone, that too is okay. I do not write assuming that all I say will have meaning for everyone. We are all on different paths. … [click on title to read and view more]

Psychiatric Drugs Send 90,000 to the ER Yearly

Can you say iatrogenic injury? Never mind the many thousands of us who suffer protracted withdrawal issues causing disability that are completely denied by the medical establishment...most of us have to start hiding from doctors who want to give us more drugs rather than give our poor bodies the chance to heal. … [click on title for the rest of the post]

The final visit to the psychiatrist (part 2 of Goodbye psychiatry)

I hadn't seen this psychiatrist or any other now in several years. I chose to make this visit to the man who prescribed the drugs for my 6 year long psychiatric drug withdrawal for several reasons. Upon reflection, I think the primary one was ritualistic. Something to mark the end of that phase of my life. A goodbye to psychiatry concretized. … [click on title for the rest of the post]

Silencing psychiatric survivors: let us count the ways

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]

Doing a favor for my psychiatrist

Last year my psychiatrist asked me to do him a favor. He teaches at a Chinese Medicine school. He does the Western Psychiatry block of the course. He asked me to come into his class to be interviewed by a student. They would be taking my "history." I told him that if I did that... Continue Reading →

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