TaperCommunity
"triggered my first episode" — @MoneWhat was this episode exactly?
"when I stopped taking the medication abruptly, which gave me a lot of anxiety" — @MoneYes, stopping any psychiatric drug abruptly (especially if you've been on it awhile) can cause severe withdrawal symptoms. It's always best to taper off safely.
"We had a conversation about the long-term effects and when I was ready to stop taking the medication, but there weren't many explanations" — @MoneDoctors are more used to putting people on drugs and don't give much thought to getting them off. If you need help discussing the issue with your doctor, please let us know since we have information that can help you do this. If tapering off your drug is something you want to do, we will support you and give you the proper knowledge so you can do it safely and successfully. It's good that you're in therapy and finding ways to handle your worries and anxieties about life. You'll definitely need those skills while tapering your drug and beyond. You can use the Learn section to read about Hyperbolic tapering and use the My Taper function for check-ins to log your dose, mood, and symptoms. Do you have any specific questions? We'll be happy to help. Wishing you much success with your upcoming taper! Catina 🩷
"I'd like to know what your role is within the community? Are you a therapist?" — @MoneHi Mone. I'm a fellow member who is on the Taper Community team. I am not a healthcare professional. I have been involved in the tapering and withdrawal community for over 5 years and served as a Peer Mentor on Surviving Antidepressants before it closed. Any advice given is based on my own personal experience or that of others that I've seen over the years. I'm passionate about supporting others during their own tapering and healing journey. Hope this helps! 🙂
"The first episode lasted almost a week and consisted of me speaking but being unintelligible until I almost stopped talking altogether. I was aware of where they were getting lost in the conversation, but I felt I couldn't explain myself because it was something that had alrea..." — @MoneThat sounds like it must have been very distressing! 😥 Was this an episode of psychosis?
"I would like to know more about withdrawal syndrome and what to do if you don't have a psychiatrist to help you deal with it without going back to the initial dose." — @MoneIf you click on Resources, you'll find the Learn section where you can read all about tapering and withdrawal. Unfortunately, most psychiatrists are not properly trained in tapering and withdrawal-related issues so their "solution" will always be to either increase the dose of a drug or add another one, which can oftentimes make things worse. The best way to deal with withdrawal symptoms is to find non-drug coping skills that can help assist you through the tapering process. Many people find that the skills they need to acquire during tapering are the very ones that they have needed all along, even before starting psychiatric drugs. Also, finding a good therapist that is knowledgable about childhood trauma and that can help you implement CBT and other therapy modalities might be helpful. I think if you take your taper slowly enough, then hopefully any withdrawal symptoms will be manageable. 💜
"I asked her about reducing my medication dosage to see if she thought it was feasible for me, and she said she'd talk to the psychiatrist about it." — @MoneHi Mone, thanks for the update. I'm glad you had a conversation about it, but don't be surprised if they aren't supportive. Most mental health professionals are trained to view drugs as the only solution. However, some people are able to handle psychosis without the use of drugs:
"they're supposed to be the ones who know best"Yes, they're supposed to be, but that's not always the case unfortunately.
"I also wanted to ask where I can continue writing even if I don't lower the dosage."You're welcome to continue making posts here if you'd like. There are also some free online journals you can use too. 😊 P.S. Regarding supplementation for psychosis, extreme caution would be needed for anything used during tapering as this could have unexpected results.
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