Tag: psychiatric drug withdrawal

May Cause Side Effects–Radical Acceptance and Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal: An Interview...

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Brooke Siem discusses her experiences of being medicated with antidepressants as a teenager, her withdrawal from a cocktail of psychiatric drugs and her debut memoir, May Cause Side Effects.

Anders Sørensen – Tackling Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal Through Research and in...

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Anders Sørenson is a Danish clinical psychologist with a special interest in psychiatric drug withdrawal. He has undertaken research which assesses the state of guidance on psychiatric drug withdrawal and paid close attention to tapering methods with the aim of identifying approaches which might make withdrawal more tolerable for people.

Why Detox Facilities and Psych Wards Are Not the Place to...

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In online communities, patients learn their strange symptoms may be due to the medications they are taking, and are offered solutions that provide hope.

Q&A: How Can I Best Support My Child’s Withdrawal from Psychiatric...

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Two experts offer do's and don'ts on "being there" during the challenging and sometimes time-consuming process of safely discontinuing mental health medications.

When Tapering Antidepressants, is Going Slow Always the Best Strategy?

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Do we take enough account of total drug exposure time when devising antidepressant tapering strategies?

RIP: Ed White – Advocate, Researcher and Supporter

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It is with great sadness that we write about the loss of one of our colleagues from the psychiatric drug withdrawal community; Doctor Ed White.

Jim van Os and Peter Groot: When Assessing Antidepressant Withdrawal Methods,...

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Jim van Os and Peter Groot discuss their paper: “Successful Use of Tapering Strips for Hyperbolic Reduction of Antidepressant Dose: A Cohort Study” published in the journal Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology.

Sherry Julo, Ed White and John Read – Online Support Groups...

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This week on the MIA podcast, we discuss a recent paper that considers the support provided by online support groups when people seek help for psychiatric drug withdrawal. It was published in the journal Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology in January 2021 and the authors are Sherry Julo, Ed White and John Read.

Reckless Psychiatric Treatment Spun Me Out of Control

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The mental health treatment I received between 2016-2019 was like an unreliable car that various mechanics had tinkered with. Yet each time I careened into a ditch, nobody looked at the car, just at me.

Surviving the Bipolar Label

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The label bipolar validated that I was suffering, yes, but it was also a bargain that asked me to see my suffering as unreasonable, the result of a deformity within my body.

Can We Move Toward Mindful Medicine? An Interview with Integrative Psychiatrist...

MIA's Madison Natarajan interviews Natalie Campo about integrative psychiatry and holistic approaches to drug tapering and withdrawal.

Out of the Abyss (with a Little Help from My Friends)

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An ER doctor told me I was experiencing venlafaxine withdrawal, then told me to go home and take care of myself. Unbeknownst to me, I was about to enter pure hell.

Born Addicted to Valium: Understanding a Lifetime of Symptoms

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Withdrawal felt like: evil feeding on my soul, my spirit being tortured, not being able to feel love, constantly feeling like I was falling in a dark tunnel, and wanting to get out of my body.

How 1 Panic Attack Led to 15 Years of Psychiatric Drugs 

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My brain zaps—symptoms of benzo withdrawal—were like having a mini seizure on a daily basis. But my doctor kept telling me that my “underlying” anxiety was causing all my distress.

Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal in Spain

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My study, in which I slowly withdrew people from prescribed antipsychotics and antidepressants, found that it is possible to decrease both spending on psychiatric drugs and patients' chronic exposure to them. In general, the drug-reduction process was well-tolerated and well-accepted among those treated.

My Mental Health Awakening

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Although it’s taken me a while to acknowledge my right to be in this world, I know that I am not “mentally ill,” but rather have a dynamic spiritual and emotional sensitivity to this world. I am here for a reason, and having to go into the depths of a very dark cave in order to see the light is how I was able to grow and discover that I don't have to take medications for the rest of my life.

Learning From Each Other As Psychiatric Survivors

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I'm drained by talking to people who might be first discovering basic truths about the mental health system that I've been aware of for over 15 years. But my excitement comes alive when I consult with people recently off of psychiatric meds who are interested in doing work similar to me, mentoring others about coming off of psych drugs.

So What’s This About Another Webinar Series on Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal?

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With this second course we are focusing on the challenges that drug withdrawal presents to prescribers as more and more people seek to come off medications. As many have noted, prescribers may have extensive experience getting patients on psychiatric medications and then managing their drug use, but little or no experience helping patients taper off the drugs.

“How Did This Happen?” – Being Injured By Pharmaceuticals Once Again

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How did it happen to me? It happened because none of us have enough resources for the sort of brain injury and impairment the psychopharmaceutical drugs impart upon us. No one knows what is really being done to our brains and some of us are clearly more sensitive than others.

The Continuing Education Course on Withdrawal from Psychiatric Drugs is Here!

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A full picture of the seven webinars that comprise our upcoming psychiatric withdrawal course, with presenters including Sandra Steingard, Peter Breggin, Kelly Brogan, Carina Hakansson, Will Hall and a panel of survivors. The course begins on October 24th and slots are filling fast!

What Happens When You Stop Taking Psychiatric Medications

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From Pacific Standard: A new study surveyed people who have come off psychiatric medications to come up with information doctors can use to help support their...

Three Suicides: Honoring Lives Lost to Benzodiazepines

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I am still trying to reconcile what these chemicals are capable of, how the urge can morph into an action, how we maybe just don’t understand suicide all that well. For me, the suffering was so intense it was too painful to stay alive. I understand how my friends felt in their last moments.

“Let’s Talk Withdrawal” Podcast

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Being in antidepressant withdrawal, I had come to feel very isolated and alone. What I needed was to hear real experiences of people who, like me, have struggled with the very drugs that they believed were going to help them. It was time to create a podcast.

The Sunrise Center 2017

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An update on the Sunrise Center Project, a survivor-run project aiming to help people come off psychiatric drugs using Re-evaluation Counseling. We don’t think it’s down to just the person trying to get off drugs to deal with their issues and feelings about it. We think the people around them need to deal with their own issues and feelings about the process too.

7 Years Off Psych Drugs: A Message to Those Labeled by...

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Seven years ago, I completed a six-year process of withdrawing from six psychiatric drugs. That process was the impetus to start speaking up about what is happening in psychiatry with far too many of us being gravely harmed.