My Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal and ACA Recovery Story - Interview with Georgia, October 2020
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Very inspiring, I recognize the childhood traumas (and I know I am not alone in this), the self-critical voice, the numbing with netflix and sugar (after caffeine, alcohol, and for me also drugs and sex, lost their use) , the self-care techniques. I took antidepressants 1996-2010, and last year was confronted with so much loss and bereavement that my doctor wants me to see a psychiatrist. I agree I need help, but in my experience a psychiatrist will prescribe medication and after a while that is just prescriptions and changing brands and doses for ever diminishing returns
Thanks for writing about some of your experiences. Pieces of what I shared clearly resonate with you, and I'm sorry you're experiencing the pain that you are. You are correct; what most psychiatrists primarily do today is prescribe medications, and most do not do any psychotherapy. When people get to a very stuck place in their lives, medication may be a helpful bridge to support them in getting to a better place. My perspective is similar to yours, though, that over time, antidepressants and antianxiety drugs tend to have diminishing returns and can sometimes complicate a healing process. I got off these medications after many years by going VERY slowly and by replacing them with intensive trauma-informed therapeutic approaches and learning new methods of self-care - physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual. I wish you the best with this journey 🙏💛
This is a great story. I find myself in a similair prediciment atm. Have been through hell the last 3 years and lost everything but fighting every day to get healthy again.
Btw is there a way we could have a call?
I'm glad my story is useful for you, and I'm sorry you are facing such struggles! I'd be happy to do a check-in/consult with you on Zoom. Please reach out to me via email (Lou@LiveTrueBeWell.com) and we can set something up.
This is an extremely powerful story and I really appreciate you telling it.
I appreciate hearing this was useful for you, Matt.
@@loubardachhow are you now
@@rameshlumb4003 Today (9/25/23), about three years after this interview, I can confidently say I'm doing well! I'm still sober with alcohol and all illicit drugs, abstain from nicotine and caffeine, and free from all psychiatric medication. I continue to do inner growth and healing work (and probably will my whole life), but I think the heaviest lifting is over. Like everyone, I have days that are easier and days that are tough. But thankfully, I don't experience any of the intense withdrawal symptoms that I endured during the taper and for several years afterward. I completed my Master's degree with a 4.0 GPA this past May and carry a full-time client caseload between the coaching and psychotherapy work I do. I'm grateful to now be helping others on their personal growth and healing journeys, some of whom are in the process of reducing or relinquishing use of psychiatric drugs.
Thank you for describing my anxiety symptoms
Thanks for your comment. I appreciate hearing that what I described in my experience resonated with you.
Great interview. I have very similar story. Debilitating anxiety attacks upon moving country (different language different culture) into a stressful job, treatment with medications, which worked very well to relieve the symptoms and allowed me to function and get on with my life. However now i am engaging with ACA work, i find the benzos to be an issue where i never did before. It could be 10 years before i taper off these things. My panic attacks were unbearable and there's no way i am going back to that. In fact in retrospect i had severe anxiety issues all my young life, of course its only now that i am 49 that i can look back and it is so obvious. The medications do work, they keep a person on top of their symptoms but obviously the root cause remains. Is there any more private way we cound exchange information because your experience resonates a lot with me.
Thanks for commenting and sharing your experience. Medications do seem to alleviate some symptoms for some people (just like any drug might do). However, they also often have side effects and tend to become less effective over time (tolerance is built) - in which case the dose is usually increased, the medication is switched, or more medications are added. And I think you are also correct, that the medications do nothing to address the original, underlying causes of the symptoms (usually some type of trauma, broadly defined) and can often mask these issues, allowing them to fester below the surface. Tapering off these medications can be painful and challenging for some, especially after long-term use, but I know first-hand that it is most definitely possible to find freedom and a new way to live. You are most welcome to reach out to me by email at Lou@LiveTrueBeWell.com
Louis omg the drinking causes me that intense bed ridden anxiety too... it seems like benzos intensified the withdrawals im the same as you i was prescribed an ssri, benzos but also would drink and binge
Thanks for sharing about your experience, Geralt. Once I learned that benzos key into the same neurotransmitters as alcohol (GABA), the connection to my overall sensitivity to both from using both made much more sense to me. It also makes sense to me that my benzo withdrawal was intensified from having quit drinking alcohol so soon before trying to quit the benzos.