On The New York Times Opinionator Blog, Diana Spechler has written a series entitled “Going Off,” relating her experience transitioning to a life without prescription medications for her anxiety, depression, and insomnia.
This week’s installment, “10 Things I’d Tell My Former (Medicated) Self,” marks Diana’s final entry for the series which began in February. In it she she gives voice to her own confessions and reminiscences and encourages others to do the same.
She writes:
“You are all products of a society with arbitrary taboos, a society that has made mental health a fraught topic, that hasn’t learned how to talk about mental health without worrying about what others will think. Let them shout. They need to shout. Don’t be afraid. You have a right to voice your experience. Maybe it’s not just a right but an obligation — to fight this collective shame with your clearest, most honest words.”
Find the whole series here