Today I’m going to see the shrink who prescribed for me while I was coming off psychiatric drugs. I’ve not seen him in many years since I wasn’t well enough to leave the house for a good part of the time he helped me. What is interesting about this man is that he believed me when I told him my experience and so he prescribed the multiple changing dosages I needed for all the six drugs I came off of. At the same time, however, he managed to show little or no interest in what was happening to me in that it was a mirror of what 1000s of other folks were going through. I became gravely ill as I watched 1000s of others becoming gravely ill in the process too. So in that I still felt totally disregarded by him. We have an epidemic of harm happening. He helped me free myself from the toxic substances and watched me become ill but continues to prescribe to others without owning what he is participating in.
I’m grateful I found him, however, because most people who have rough withdrawals don’t find a doctor to help them at all. This guy prescribed for me when I was bedridden and unable to sit up. I don’t know how I would have managed had he not been prescribing for me. I couldn’t even go to doctors’ appointments of any kind. I couldn’t leave the house at all. Had he not been prescribing for me I wouldn’t have been able to find another doctor.
Again, I’m very grateful that he was able to be present for me in this way and, believe me, even if he somehow never got it about everyone else. It’s like, god knows what he’s done with the volume on his cognitive dissonance. 😛
I decided to go see him today. It’s been about maybe 6 or 7 years since I’ve seen him. He remotely prescribed the last tiny dose of Klonopin I took on February 9, 2010 when I finally finished the 6-year withdrawal from the 6-drug cocktail.
Today I will thank him and make a formal goodbye to him and psychiatric “care.” And I’ll share with him whatever he’s interested in knowing about it, too. He’s a remarkably friendly guy . . . and has really good energy. I always loved visiting him when I was able to see him. Really. So this will be interesting.
And to be clear . . . this is not the man who got me on the massive cocktail to begin with and I’m clear on the fact that this guy doesn’t use massive cocktails like that with his patients. He’s got a lighter touch in that regard, in general. I suppose that might be why he didn’t think I was representative of anything he’s involved in. Who knows?
See also: The Final Visit to the Psychiatrist (Part 2 of Goodbye Psychiatry)
Other posts that might be of interest:
- Bridging Patient-Professional Divide
- Being the empowered patient
- The divide between client/patient/consumer and professionals (with list of links)
- healing journey — part 1 and 2 (brief thoughts from this morning to a friend)
- A doctor who talks sense about the all too frequent use of coercion in medicine
- Informed Choice: Pro-information and pro-choice when it comes to drugs and medications
- Words for all in the “helping” professions (and for any human who wants to benefit others)
- Medical compliance? Adherence? No. My MDs are my PARTNERS
- Letters to my shrink
* * * * *
This article first appeared on
Monica Cassani’s website, Beyond Meds