Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode

Mad in America: Rethinking Mental Health

Claire talks about antidepressant withdrawal, tapering and ssri discontinuation syndrome

The Mad in America podcast, hosted by James Moore, examines mental health with a critical eye by speaking with psychologists, psychiatrists and people with lived experience.

When you hear such conversations, you realise that much of what is believed to be settled in mental health is actually up for debate. Is mental health a matter of faulty biology or is there more to it? Are the treatments used in psychiatry helpful or harmful in the long term? Are psychiatric diagnoses reliable? With the help of our guests, we examine these questions and so much more.

This podcast is part of Mad in America’s mission to serve as a catalyst for rethinking psychiatric care and mental health. We believe that the current drug-based paradigm of care has failed our society and that scientific research, as well as the lived experience of those who have been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, calls for profound change.

On the podcast over the coming weeks, we will have interviews with experts and those with lived experience of the psychiatric system. Thank you for joining us as we discuss the many issues around rethinking mental health around the world.

For more information visit madinamerica.com

Claire talks about antidepressant withdrawal, tapering and ssri discontinuation syndrome

Mar 6, 2017

This week, we talk to Claire who shares her powerful story of being prescribed antidepressants at the age of 16 and her experiences of trying to withdraw. She describes how she tapered gradually over 2 years but went on to experience SSRI discontinuation syndrome.

In this episode we discuss:

How Claire was prescribed an antidepressant at a very early age.
How she was told lies about a chemical imbalance to justify treatment and that she would need the drugs for life.
That there was nothing by way of follow up after the antidepressant was prescribed unless Claire initiated a conversation with her doctors.
That several antidepressants stopped working, forcing Claire to change medications.
That several attempts to withdraw ended in failure because she was advised to withdraw too quickly and that reinstating a full dose was the only solution.
That Claire felt trapped and like a prisoner, thinking she was stuck on the drugs for life and was she ever going to be able to get off them.
That a very slow taper over two years was the only way for Claire to be able to tolerate the significant, widespread and very unpleasant physical and psychological effects of withdrawal.
That Claire had to fight with doctors to get a liquid version of her medication which was the only way she could taper slowly.
Claire's experience of SSRI discontinuation syndrome.
That Facebook communities provided vital support to fill the gaping hole in mainstream medicines understanding and knowledge of prescribed drug dependance and withdrawal.
Being told by doctors that Claire's experiences were not real and that she should be "over it in a few weeks"
That mainstream medicine makes incorrect and dangerous assumptions about the length and severity of antidepressant withdrawal.

To find out more, visit https://www.letstalkwithdrawal.com/