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Originally Posted by aragonite_11
Hi all,
Has anyone got experience coming off psychotropic medications?
It has been four years on these meds and I honestly don't believe they are doing any good and I'm very concerned about their effect on my memory and irritability.
I'd love to hear any advice for natural mood management too!
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Hopefully you are in active counseling or psychotherapy. I would strongly recommend that so that you have someone to talk with while you go through the process.
I've done it twice. First time abruptly. I was on amytryptaline for a couple years and in therapy for life-long depression. The side effects were awful and it felt like I was zoned out all of the time. Then the SSRIs came out and I wanted to switch. But the only way to do it was to go off the first one for a couple weeks before switching over. That was the longest scariest two weeks of my life as I just wanted the pain to stop and could not do anything but wait. The started the SSRI and at least I could feel like I had some hope. The SSRI took a while to kick in after that.
Did it much more gradually the second time. Working with my psychotherapist who agreed we could lower the dosage and wait until things got stable. Did that a few times. Though during the process I had to be realistic and even accept the possibility that I may be on the medication for the rest of my life if needed. I was on a low dosage for a long time before I finally cut it out completely.
It was essential for me to do tons of personal growth work ever since then. I had to change my whole life and it is an ongoing process. Gradually changing everything including stopping drinking, better diet, sleep, relationships, work, praying. Everything. I had to rebuild my life and then maintain it. Used every self-treatment I could find. And I needed to return to therapy years after but found new approaches so that I am still not on any medication. Currently in therapy recovering from PTSD symptoms using EMDR, EFT and neurofeedback. And I also rely on several amino acids and herbal remedies to maintain things.
There is no quick easy one-size-fits-all solution. Everyone is different. Do lots of research. But remember slow and steady wins the race and you need to commit to playing for the long haul. There are a lot of tools out there and it is good to find hope wherever you can. And there is no substitute for a good process for change that creates stability.
Wish you luck in your process.