This is a great question for the community. I can see how someone from the "outside" might wonder if someone is already taking something, why bother stopping it? My reasons for stopping:
1.) Chemical Imbalance Myth: There is no evidence supporting the theory that depression is a "chemical imbalance". In fact, there is no evidence that any "mental illness" is caused by a chemical imbalance as there is there is no method available to test for the presence or absence of these chemical imbalances (https://cepuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Myth-of-the-chemical-imbalance-010314.pdf). Therefore, I was given medications when I was younger under false pretense and a lack of informed consent.
2.) Sexual Dysfunction: this was not as bad as other cases I have heard, but I experienced a "dulling" during intimacy and difficulty achieving orgasm. This resolved after stopping the medications I was prescribed.
3.) Emotional Numbing: part of what I needed to heal from had to do with my emotions, but I found the medications "numbed" them to the point that I was rarely able to cry.
4.) No Long-term Research: There is growing research on the consequences of long-term use: (https://www1.racgp.org.au/ajgp/2026/june/continuing-antidepressants-or-not)
5.) I also have a father who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. I have personally witnessed the consequences of long-term psych med use both on the body and brain. Knowing now that there are options in other parts of the world that take a non-medication recovery approach to psychosis, it both saddens and frustrates me.
TaperCommunity
