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Mad in America: Rethinking Mental Health


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

 

Mar 13, 2017

This week, we talk to Giovanna from Australia. Giovanna was prescribed an antidepressant aged 17 and tried many times to withdraw over the next 23 years. She shares her experiences with us including the advice and support that she received and her hopes for the future.

In this episode we discuss:

  • How Giovanna trusted her doctors when she was told she had a chemical imbalance and she needed her antidepressant like a diabetic needs insulin.
  • That, at 17, she had no idea about adverse effects or withdrawal and she was not told about this by her prescriber.
  • That even by missing a single tablet she suffered withdrawal symptoms but assumed that it was because she needed the drugs.
  • That doctors reinforced several times the need to stay on the drugs for life.
  • That liquid versions are not available for all antidepressant medications, making withdrawal even more difficult.
  • How Giovanna fears the impact that withdrawal effects will have on her life, her career and her family.
  • How a Psychiatrist tried to take her off her medications after 23 years in a single week, leading to a stay in hospital.
  • How Giovanna can use a compounding pharmacy to prepare solution for her but that it is very expensive.
  • That sometimes all someone wants is to have their withdrawal issues taken seriously by doctors.
  • That every other option for easing mental health difficulties including nutrition, exercise, socialising etc should be examined before resorting to antidepressants.

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