Hi, I'm Timothy

Hi @Timothy! A very warm welcome to you. We're so glad you're here. 🩷 It's sad that we can't rely on doctors to get us safely off the drugs they prescribe. You were smart to extend your taper last year, even though it was still too fast. Don't beat yourself up...many of us have done the same exact thing! I'm glad that you were able to move back in with your parents and have a place where you can recover. Do they understand what you're dealing with and support you? It's good that you knew enough about reinstatement to stabilize things a bit. Definitely take your time. I've been at this a very long time with Effexor and sustained a horrible crash a few years ago where I ended up in the hospital. It traumatized me greatly, and I don't want to go through that again. I get it and empathize with your feelings. I'm proceeding super slow with my taper right now, and that's okay. Let your own body dictate the rate that you can reduce. Everyone is different. Most of the changes in serotonin receptors happen at the very low doses, so take things as slowly as you need to. There's no need to rush. Withdrawing from psychiatric drugs is HARD, but please know you're not alone and we're all in this together. If we take things slowly and just one step at a time, I know we make it through to the other side. Staying stable and functional is the most important thing - more important than being off of a drug, so keep that in mind. We are so grateful to have you here. Please feel free to welcome new members and share some encouragement with someone else. We all need each other on this crazy journey. Hugs, Catina 🩷

Since you're struggling with suicidal thoughts, I hope this will help: https://taper.community/thread/a42c21cc-01a1-4189-a989-9e6333a428ab Reach out ANYTIME if you need a listening ear, okay? We're here to help and you're never alone. 💝

Timothy, can you find some gentle, calming ways to distract yourself? I find that focusing completely on something else really helps get me out of my own head. https://taper.community/thread/e47305af-d74b-4d06-94eb-743f747886a6

Welcome to Taper Community and good luck with your taper!

Hi Timothy, A warm welcome to the community! I can completely understand how your last attempt may still feel traumatic and affect the way you approach tapering now. One of the most important things when tapering is to give yourself enough time. There is no reason to rush to get off the medication or try to speed up the process. Unfortunately, our nervous system simply doesn't work that way. A broken foot needs time to heal—you can't force the healing process to happen faster. I think of the nervous system in a similar way: it needs time to adapt and gradually find its balance again. I highly recommend keeping a short daily symptom journal. Since you're experiencing these symptoms again, it's possible that your reductions this year may have been too fast for your nervous system. Sometimes a small step back followed by a sufficiently long period of stabilization can help. I know the symptoms you're describing all too well. Sometimes it genuinely feels like things will never get better, and then just a few days later everything can suddenly feel completely different again. We're happy to share our own experiences with you here and support each other along the way. You're definitely not alone. 🙋 Take your time reading through all the information available here, and don't put pressure on yourself. Stability always comes before speed. 🫶