Step 1- How Do I Feel About the Idea of Coming Off Psychiatric Drugs?

Why this step is important

Carving out time to simply be with whatever emotions and thoughts you’re having about the idea of withdrawal helps you better understand what’s happening within you. It also begins the process of orienting and anchoring yourself more deeply in what you truly want for yourself.
 

Getting oriented

If you’re taking psychiatric drugs, it’s perfectly understandable that the idea of coming off them might bring with it a variety of meaningful, powerful emotions and thoughts.  After all, these are substances that many of us have been in relationship to in very deep, intimate, personal ways – with our minds and bodies. Whether taken only for a relatively short period of time or over many years, these drugs have the power to affect our daily lives, how we make sense of our emotions and thoughts, how we relate to others, and how we understand and define ourselves.

Coming off psychiatric drugs means the end of this deeply intertwined relationship, and walking into an unknown future: Who you may be off your medications, what your mind and emotions may be like, what capacities and abilities you may have, what your unmedicated self may be like... It requires a lot of courage to take a leap of faith and forge this path. It’s completely natural to be grappling with a lot of feelings about it—perhaps even conflicting ones. What those of us who’ve walked this path before have found is that paying attention and listening to what these feelings may be communicating has been vital to making our taper journeys successful.