elbee: Free from Zoloft and Benzos After 25+ Years of Use

[rachie]

I'm secretly hoping that you will run a small weekly zoom support group for a handful of us that are doing the ACA/trauma work while being in the middle of this lengthly psych drug withdrawal/recovery. I've been doing it with a 12 step trauma group for a year now and while very helpful I am the only one in this withdrawal. Would love to use some of the same principals to help get through this with others who understand. For pay of course through your coaching. Just planting a seed. Or if you know of any weekly groups for the w/d I would be interested💛

[elbee]

On 5/4/2022 at 4:27 PM, rachie said:

I'm secretly hoping that you will run a small weekly zoom support group for a handful of us that are doing the ACA/trauma work while being in the middle of this lengthly psych drug withdrawal/recovery

 

@rachie I appreciate you making your "secret hope" not so secret! I have a few ideas, but I'd be curious to hear more from you about what you are envisioning this might look like. Please feel free to reach out directly if you're open talking a bit more in-depth about this. Thanks!

[curiousnootropics]

How are you now my friend?

[rachie]

I am still cycling up and down but actually doing better overall. Just understanding and trying to except that the body is going to take a long time to heal and I need to do my best to keep my words and attitude in check. I have a great therapist helping me through this. Thank you for asking. And how is it going for you?

[curiousnootropics]

3 minutes ago, rachie said:

I am still cycling up and down but actually doing better overall. Just understanding and trying to except that the body is going to take a long time to heal and I need to do my best to keep my words and attitude in check. I have a great therapist helping me through this. Thank you for asking. And how is it going for you?

I'm in a very bad shape 17 months off. I started weight training about 2 weeks ago and I think it increased my withdrawal 10x.. think my nervous system did not like this. Damn this journey is so hard.

[rachie]

It is. I am at 20 months off and still I am blown away by how messed up my system is and how much worse it gets with added stress or exercise. I walk, ride my bike some. I used to be really active in fitness. I've tried running again on and off but it usually sends me into a terrible wave. I actually ran two really short amounts this week for the first time in a long time and was able to tolerate it but the exercise intensifying things is real From my experience. I also cannot Tolerate heat very well and that comes with exercise. I do yin yoga Just to try to calm my nervous system.

[elbee]

April 28, 2023 . . . 4 years of being completely drug-free! 

 

Detoxing from psych meds was one of the most brutal experiences of my life. And I have zero regrets now that I'm living on the other side in freedom. I'm grateful to have survived.

 

In short, I'm doing really well! There are ups, and there are downs, but that's what it means to be human. And the challenges I face today are nothing compared to the day-to-day suffering I experienced while going through withdrawal, and my intensive inner healing process.

 

Today (coincidently?) is also the last day of classes for the MSW degree I've been working on over the last three years. I'm graduating -- taking the next steps in my career, helping others in stuck places find their way out, too.

 

Go gently.

[rachie]

Always inspired hearing your story. I have had many steps forward with a long slowwwww healing process and then some waves that undo me. It has been about 2.5 years for me off the AD and it's still a struggle a lot of the time BUT it is moving in a forward healing direction. I do keep picking myself back up (after I let myself meltdown!!!) and carrying on often when I think I can't do this any longer. Thank you for being a healing light. I still don't feel like I have anything to offer but maybe one day I can be a voice of encouragement. Blessings!!! 

[elbee]

@rachie  Thanks for sharing your experience, strength, and hope! Testifying that you have been surviving this ordeal and that you're still finding ways to take some "next best steps" in your healing process IS inspiration.

 

It was more than a year after I jumped off the last drug (Zoloft) before I could even start to imagine any type of "normalcy" in my life again. From there, it's been an incremental process of stepping out back into the world again in very part-time ways. I did some volunteer work for a few hours a week just to find ways to stay somewhat connected to the world. A bit later, I was able to go back to school part-time to pursue a career change I wanted to make. All along, I wished the process would be faster, and over and over again, I had to "surrender," or "let go" of the ideas more critical parts of me held on to that I was supposed to be in some place other than I was. 

 

Rachie, you and I have chatted a bit, and I know you are investing in doing deeper inner work that will benefit you in the long run. You will have doubts, we all do, but I know you will also find growing trust in your healing journey, and greater ease in your life.

 

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

[elbee]

Hello, SA community!

 

I'm posting a link to a clip here because I'm hoping it might be useful to some:

 

https://youtu.be/EDsw1vGMD_U

 

This clip is about "Stories of Hope" -- their origins (often in childhood), our addictions to them, and often the inevitable need to withdraw from them. Special thanks to my client, who agreed to have this clip published with no identifying names, images, or in-depth issue-specific information included.

 

The focus of our coaching work together has been to support him through his withdrawal from Prozac after 25 years of use. He has previously withdrawn from benzodiazepines and now refrains from alcohol consumption and other drug use. Additionally, we have been addressing a number of life issues, including codependency, parenting, work/career, family of origin . . . and all the "stories of hope" associated with these areas of focus. We have been using "parts" perspectives (ACA reparenting/inner child and the Internal Family Systems framework) in our work together to address the agitation he experiences associated with conflict between his inner parts, both generally, and in connection with his psychiatric drug taper.

[clingingtoFaith]

Thank you for posting your story. I dropped my doc who prescribed me benzos and tried to cover up the side effects of benzos with 2 antidepressants cymbalta and lexapro. I was on the 3 for 3 years. 

 

I was getting worse, and money was low, and uneducated about the drugs. I quit too fast, might as well be cold turkey. 

 

I'm fighting, clinging on to hope that I could also heal. So very few success stories from those who quit benzos and antidepressants. And I have not seen anybody who quit those around the same time + cold turkey. 

[elbee]

Hello @clingingtoFaith. I'm sorry to hear you're struggling. So little is really known about the effects of these drugs, or why some people seem to be able to get off them without much trouble while others like us are affected in such profoundly painful ways. No two people's paths are alike, but I understand your desire to find others with similar experiences. Early in my process in particular, I wanted to find others who had been on the same drugs as me and for a similar time period (25 years). I think I was looking for examples of successes that I could most believe might apply to me. I had so much doubt early on that I could heal!

But healing does happen . . . some of it through purposeful actions and changes we make in our lives, and some through our body/brain/mind/spirit's incredible ability to heal itself! I discovered that finding some gentleness and compassion for myself is probably one of the most important assets on my healing path. Some days are easier than others. I wish you the best!