When will you feel like yourself again after coming off psych drugs?
77,915
Published 2018-05-06
Thanks for watching!
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Note: I still have limited mental stamina and am a bit disorganized in my thinking (not in a schizophrenic kind of way, but in a brain-that’s-still-recovering kind of way) so I apologize for the video being a little rambly and not as on-point as it could be. I’ll get better. Thanks again for watching.
Hang in there.
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About Russell B:
I was 11-years-old when I was first taken to a psychiatrist. Like so many children, I was struggling to deal with a stressful home environment. Rather than embarking on the complicated, difficult, and delicate task of thoroughly exploring all of that and attempting to solve the problems at their origins, the psychiatrist instead gave me a diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and promptly prescribed the antidepressant Luvox to treat its “symptoms.”
This sequence of events kickstarted nearly two decades of wandering through psychiatry’s labyrinth of symptom management and prescribing cascades. By the time I was 25, I had received a half-dozen diagnoses, taken countless psychiatric drugs — including ten straight years on antipsychotics — and had more side effects than I could keep up with or manage. I weighed 400 lbs (181 kg), had out-of-control Type 2 diabetes, and felt like I was dying. And honestly, I had felt so bad for so long, I sometimes welcomed it.
I didn’t know where the DSM labels and all the treatments for my supposed “disorders” stopped and I began. I was sad, broken, and worst of all, someone I’d never had the chance to know.
But then I experienced a spark of hope. A light bulb-over-the-brain moment. Maybe I didn’t have to live that way. Even though the belief had been drilled into me for so many of my developing years that coming off the meds would surely seal my doom, something deep inside told me to take a chance and bet big on Russell B. Using this internal guidance, I began a psych drug taper and slowly started coming off every single one of the drugs in a psych drug cocktail: Lexapro, Concerta, Ritalin, Geodon, Klonopin, and Rozerem. None of them were safe. All were on the chopping block.
It took 5 god-awful years to complete the taper and with almost no help from the docs who’d put me on them. But I succeeded.
I’ve been off all meds for 10 years now (as of August 2023) and haven’t seen a psychiatrist since way back in 2009. It’s been a brutally long journey down a nightmarish path. One that was often too dark to see in front of me and littered with steep drops and soul-testing trials. But you know what? I survived. And my life has been improving, slowly but surely, ever since I escaped the house that psychiatry built.
If you’re wandering down the same path, please know you’re not alone. You’re not fated to lose your way – or yourself. You can succeed. We all can.
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Support Calls:
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Disclaimer:
Any advice given on this channel is not a substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a licensed medical professional before coming off psych drugs.
All Comments (20)
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It’s not fair how can it be legal for a doctor to destroy lives like this.
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You are giving me hope. These drugs have murdered my soul and almost killed me, I want to be my old self again.
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First time i see someone talks about psych drugs clearly
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I am 22 years old and I’ve been on anti psychotics and ADD medications since I was 6 years old. So about 16 years. I really pray my psychiatrist listens to me when saying I want to slowly withdraw from my antipsychotic injections. I’ve always felt out of body and schizophrenia really affected me since I was 6. Please pray for me
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I went off of antipsychotic drugs a few years ago and it was 100% worth it for me. It was a slow process like you said. It took me about 2 years (the same amount of time I was on the meds) to feel fully like myself again. In hindsight I wish I hadn't taken them, but I did recover and I want more people to know that's possible.
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You might be the only person who has been realistic and has actually given me hope so far. So thank you
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I’ve had such a brain fog and memory loss since being on my meds. I’m almost 32 and haven’t been able to get a job, go back to school or actively raise my children. I’m starting to detox my body off lithium, Lamictal and Wellbutrin. My doctor said not too because I need them, I know I need a mood stabilizer but probably a very low dose. I’m tired of feeling like a numb zombie. Wish me luck!
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Put my foot down a few days ago. The withdrawals have been bad. Shit’s dark lol. I’ve been in agony but there are moments of brightness that shine through the cracks if I’m paying attention. I’m excited to rediscover myself again 😊
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My parents have made me see all kinds of psychiatrists. By the Lord above they don't know what they are doing to me as well as other people too. They are always saying that I need help. So wahla here they come with their rescue medicine that leaves me disabled. Wow what kind of love in this world is that?
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You’re such a nice man. You deserve every happiness. I’ve been on my psych meds for 25 years & I want to stop. I wish I had never taken them all these years ago.
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"the mental-health’ industry was not established to support people, but to individualize and medicalize the social misery created by capitalist rule.” Susan Rosenthal (2019). Rebel Minds
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This guy is saying exactly what I’m thinking…it makes you feel so lost
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I wish I could hug you, its so refreshing to just hear one positive voice who understands. You truly are a voice in the wilderness. I wish more people could be honest about the reality of psych drugs and how their effects are not really something that can be easily put into black and white categories and they go beyond just physical suffering. Its just like it snatches your soul away and you no longer remember who you are. I wish they would list those side effects on the blackbox warning or their websites: "May suck your soul out of you along with your personality and will to do things."
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It was my 29th Birthday yesterday and I couldn’t even get out of bed. I’ve been coming off Lexapro whilst taking a myriad of other drugs that I honestly hate… I feel like I’ve wasted a third of my life chasing this cure that doesn’t exist. I pursued medical advice because I wanted to be more self aware and yet I feel like I don’t even recognise myself when I look in the mirror…
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yeah coming down of my tablets is the best thing i have done and i am coming down once again soon i know my Brain has been damaged but because I'm a Christian i believe in a God who can heal so you can give me all the negative comments in the world not here to argue but share my story with you all and i cannot just leave god out of the picture he has healed me in so many ways i am so thankful
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Thank you so much for sharing this Russell. It is so nice to know that this process takes time and that it is normal for it to take time and that others do go through this
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CONGRATS RUSSELL! Glad you’re young enough to get yourself back! GREAT VIDEO, too! Your video was perfectly spot on & I wouldn’t change a single thing about it! ♥️🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
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Thank you for making this video and enlightening people. My son's first psychotic episode was when he was put on ANTIpsychotics - no Dr would even acknowledge this, they just said the dose isn't high enough and kept upping it until he lost the plot. Took another similar episode for me to figure it all out. Now I know his genetic makeup has a mutated CYP450 enzyme which does not metabolise these meds. His body was filled with toxins that affected his brain.
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thanks for your message brother, i love you and all the people who had to take meds i love you all.. i have been struggling to get my life back for 10 years! the little progresses i have made make me to continue this fight!
