Tapering while doing trauma therapy

[Bruci]

Tapering while doing trauma therapy.

 

QUOTE:”We strongly urge that you NOT START tapering or that you HOLD AT CURRENT DOSE if you...

....

• start or already participate in intense emotional therapy for previous traumatic events”

 

in my experience, NOT tapering during trauma therapy actually inhibited my access to the deep feelings I needed to feel to resolve the trauma. It is something you should discuss with your therapist. Each case is different.

 

When I dropped from Celexa 40 mg to 30 mg, I experienced withdrawal symptoms but I obtained more access to my feelings.   If I had tapered more slowly, the process would have been more smooth. but staying on the higher dose would have kept me in the “numb zone“ so I’m thankful I reduced. 
 

Something to consider.

 

Bruci

 

Edited September 26, 2020 by ChessieCat
added topic title

[Altostrata]

Good to hear this is working for you. Should you develop withdrawal symptoms, you might feel quite differently.

[Starboy17]

I'm experiencing some intense guilt/shame the last couple of days.  So much that at times I'm shaky throughout the day and have had some early morning waking with nightmares.  My lawyer lodged compensation for child sexual abuse over a year ago and they came back with an offer.  One of the issues is that as it relates to institutional child sexual abuse one particular event I don't recall if it was at the institution or elsewhere all the others I'm confident about except this one. I put it down that it occurred at the institution at the time but my memory is not the best, i was using drugs at the time the abuse occurred and it was over 24yrs ago. I wrote a brief statement a year ago and since then it has made me reflect on things and is why I'm  now I'm no longer certain about that one.  I just want to remove the one incident from my statement but I have to wait til Tuesday as tomorrow is a public holiday and nothing will be open.  I'm going to call my therapist on Tuesday to get some help managing my emotions as i feel overwhelmed. I worry that they wont believe my entire statement, or i may get into trouble, I didn't falsely accuse anyone as i don't know the name nor could I even identify the face of the person. I just want to move forward with my life, i also want my statement to contain things I am certain about.

 

How can i manage this? what strategies could you suggest?

[ChessieCat]

Because the symptoms you are experiencing would seem to be triggered by things related to the abuse/court case/statement issue it might be best to speak to a counsellor and/or sexual abuse support group.  You could ask your lawyer if there are any that are being provided to support people going through the court cases.

[Starboy17]

Hi ChessieCat,

 

Thanks so much for replying. I got a text message from a male sexual survivors support group this morning. I called him & advised the above and he was reassuring and understanding.  I will need to contact the main number tomorrow to advise that i want to amend one incident in my statement.  The statement just goes to the Govt which they have already assessed there's no court case the process is set up where victims just lodge a statement.   I'm thinking that tapering mirtazapine has made me feel a whole lot more vulnerable and fragile than usual.  I'm doing my best just to hold myself together, i felt like i needed a Valium just to relax.  However, I'm aware that more pharma meds are not the best option.   I was prescribed mirtazapine in emergency near 4.5years ago and that has made things more complicated. Sure my sleep temporarily improved but it made me suffer in other ways which i would prefer to not repeat.

 

 

[ChessieCat]

37 minutes ago, Starboy17 said:

I'm thinking that tapering mirtazapine has made me feel a whole lot more vulnerable and fragile than usual.

 

It would probably be a very good idea to hold on your current dose/s for the time being until the external stressors are reduced.

[Starboy17]

yes, I'm going to ride this out, I'll make the necessary calls when my psychologist is back in the office tomorrow. I just feel so impatient that I just want this off my mind as I keep ruminating which just makes me feel more anxious.  I haven't experienced this intensity of anxiety probably since i started mirtazapine in 2016. I don't want to take any other meds and i know i'll have to try different things so i don't feel helpless and stuck.

 

[Starboy17]

Hi ChessieCat,

 

My apologies if I'm being too needy, i  just feel my anxiety is beyond my coping ability at times,  i feel exhausted and as mentioned i noticed my blood pressure was high for the last 3 days I must be sensitive as i notice it, i just feel tired.  I usually sleep ok, but have woken up numerous times throughout the night after 3-4 hours the last 3 days.  I'm able to go back to sleep for a couple more hours although quality  is questionable but it doesn't feel restful. I understand that compared to others who have severe insomnia that my sleep is better.  The intensity of the anxiety is more than I've experienced for a long time.   I also considered my blood pressure reading could be white coat syndrome or something similar. how can i increase my resilience or implement some techniques to at least get some relief? i gave up my daily coffee as it over stimulated me on Friday.   I worry this could take a toll on my body or is that just anxiety? its difficult to tell

[Starboy17]

Hi all,

 

I've done meditation twice today but cannot say that my unrelenting anxiety is any better.  I hope a pattern isn't emerging as I'm concerned that I'll have to up-dose, which is not something i want to entertain but I feel almost as though there's very little choice given the severity of the symptoms I'm experiencing. This morning whilst in bed I thought i noticed some tinnitus.   I feel the roughest I've felt in years actually. Whether the anxiety is making me physically ache between my shoulders is another issue as well as feeling generally fatigued. I had a little headache and parts of my head feels like I was experiencing some head burning. Could that be inflammation?

 

I'm not sure if mirt has stopped working or whether I'm experiencing some type of situational anxiety. Possibly a combination, but if the blood pressure is too high how do we manage that?

 

 

[Starboy17]

Hi all,

 

I understand that external stressors can exacerbate anxiety, I may feel less anxious than i did the previous few days but i still feel some lingering anxiety.  I'm still waking up every 3 or so hours and last night i felt that's all the sleep I had.  Previously when i had this type of anxiety it just got worse until i  reluctantly took the  lexapro my GP prescribed that left me with suicidal thoughts and in a much worse situation.   I presented to emergency and they prescribed mirtazapine which as you can you has been challenging beyond comprehension.  My monkey brain just isn't relaxing enough for me to feel ok.

 

I do feel apprehensive simply because I'm experiencing near identical levels of distress that had me take mirtazpine.  I feel tempted to take another med even though I've read so many horror stories here and elsewhere and as we all know its highly likely  that's not going to be good for me in the long run.  Do I need to keep reminding myself that this will pass and that I can live life without meds?

 

I just want some relief

[Starboy17]

Hi all,

 

Just wanted to up-date that i had a therapy session today and I felt as though i had a breakthrough.  I'm not feeling so overwhelmed and anxious as I had been over the last 3 or so days.  I have a little worry about my sleep, but its likely just anxiety from past experience. I do know that I've made a lot of progress over the last few years tapering mirtazapine and that I need to keep reminding myself not only of how far I've come, but also that I can heal without meds. 

 

Peace

[Bruci]

On 9/26/2020 at 3:59 PM, Altostrata said:

Good to hear this is working for you. Should you develop withdrawal symptoms, you might feel quite differently.

 

It's a matter of knowing what is a w/d symptom and what is an old trauma on the rise. That's part of the therapeutic process for me. Talk therapy or CBT don't work for me so I decided to do a deep feeling therapy (primal therapy). Anxiety, panic, fear, anger, etc. are part of the process of the therapy; you go into those feelings, feel them fully and usually there is relief if you've done it right. The antidepressant blocks those feelings, which is what most psychiatry is about -- blocking, suppressing, repressing, etc. 

 

But withdrawal is like pulling the cork off a floodgate. The feelings want to burst out and you get overloaded, if you're not careful. So the slow titration (I hope!) will be a way to avoid overload while allowing the feelings to emerge, be felt, and integrated. That is the process of healing in primal therapy. 

 

I would like to go faster than the recommended 10% per month taper but I don't want to get overloaded. So I will put up with the adverse side effects of the Celexa and hopefully they will reduce over time. 

 

It's like juggling three balls: SSRI side effects, w/d symptoms, and emerging feelings. Somewhere in there is clarity and healing. 

 

[Altostrata]

Each of us needs to do what we think is best for ourselves.