"got the impression though that 12 step groups would not be supportive of tapering, I'm not sure they'd accept that with these drug"
— @Polly's Farm
Hi Polly...you are right...there's nothing out there for us...be we can CREATE ONE that suits our needs. I mean it's practically already created thanks to all the work done on this form, and Dr. Horowitz, etc.
The work, as I see it, it creating literature that serves our needs. It seems to me, there are two aspects to our recovery:
1. managing our physiological symptoms
2. supporting one another with suffering using the steps that have helped so many others
our tools and focus would be quite different from A.A. etc. But why re-invent the ENTIRE wheel when the structure of that anonymous, open, not telling others what to do, but walking along side them has worked so well???
That's me thinking because the steps have helped me so much, but I don't really FIT in anywhere. I cannot sponsor a person who is experiencing temptation to buy heroin and go on a bender. I just can't relate. But I CAN walk along side someone who has experienced:
being prescribed a strong med for normal life stressors
being falsely motivated to believe they were "seriously mentally ill"
believing they are seriously mentally ill because they drugs make whatever symptoms they had WORSE
losing sometimes DECADES of life due to an avoidable illness cause by drugs, etc.
I also think it might be important to address trauma in such a program. We life in a society that is DEEPLY traumatized by dysfunctional families, trafficking, assault, etc. Doctors treat all of it with psychiatric meds because the natural, human, support systems needed to get one through such horrors have been deconstructed during my lifetime.
My family failed me so I turned to the church. The church failed me so I turned to doctors. You know the rest of the story. ..
Truly hope people chime in. My dream, I guess, is to help create some of the support we so desperately need beyond a computer screen, helpful as this is!
atypical in presentation of side effects, super sensitive to small doses and general delayed responder. never took a psych med that didn't' make me sick immediately with infections and restless legs. have never been able to tolerate being on them, but have never had support to get off so I've been bouncing back and forth. i don't like capital letters. sorry.
Paxil — 1 mg — 2 yrs — holding until Oct. 7 doc appt.
Seroquel — 50 — planning taper |
trileptal -75 planning taper
prasozin 1 mg planning taper