Originally Posted by
whirlpools
sadly there doesn't seem to be the help available to treat people med-free. i remember once researching Rufus May because i was interested in his methods (i am quite anti-meds - for myself) but didn't get much encouragement from my care team to pursue this.
i'd love to be med-free. i spent a year in a therapeutic community where it was expected that people would be treated without their medication. they tried to take me off mine, i became unwell, they said i had to go back on them and have remained on them since (although i've taken myself off them at times, and relapsed) and i was very disappointed.
yes, i do think for me personally, i'd love to find a way without medication. but for some, it really does improve the quality of life where other help is far between - benefits outweigh the side effects.
I do agree. I am not saying that meds don't help people; nor that some are best treated with meds.
Simply that there should be far more choice & support for people who do wish to try other methods. I am sure that everyone will agree that meds are simply one part of a potential treatment; & there are many things which can help the lives of sufferers & improve prognosis - from psychological help & social support; to structured lives & secure accommodation ect ect.
It is about a balance I suppose. There doesn't appear to be much in the UK - is that where you are from? Which community did you go to?
I was never given the chance of a med free recovery. I have no real idea of knowing how I would have faired given that opportunity.
At 17 I was put on a lot of meds; 6 months later I successfully stopped them all, until I was put back on them at 21. Again I stopped them all over the space of a couple of years. then at 25 put back on them again. I haven't been able to stop this time. I have tried stopping 3 times & been very ill. But I would say that this is due to many reasons, & not simply an underlying illness. A lot of the reaction I get I think is largely a withdrawal reaction from the meds. There is very little support - & the NHS doesn't help with these things. I think that is wrong - Orthodox medicine made me dependant on these drugs; they should do everything in their power to help me get off them; if that is what I choose to try.
In the UK especially - med free alternatives are not available to the majority of people - that does not mean that certain
med free alternatives don't work.
I have to accept that for the time being I am on meds, & that is my situation.