Posted by med_empowered on October 27, 2005, at 7:33:06
In reply to Re: going off all meds-again, posted by 4wd on October 26, 2005, at 22:16:05
yeah, i've been there with the "no purpose in life" feeling. The worst part was I remember telling my therapist (and psychiatrist) flat out "I feel like I have no meaning in life. I feel like I'm living in an existential void." What'd they say? "Oh..well..that's interesting. How are your symptoms?" I respect your decision to go off your meds, although I would advise you to do it reasonably slowly--withdrawal from medication can sometimes be worse than the problem you were taking them for, so please taper instead of cold-turkey quitting, if you can. As for the meaning in life...I don't know what to tell you, really. Its such a personal thing. I'm going back to school, moving, and I've started writing again (I also stopped taking all my meds, and I stopped seeing my therapist and psychiatrist). I **can** recommend that you read "Man's Search For Meaning" by Vikter Frankel. He was a psychiatrist, but that was back in the day before psychiatrists became glorified drug pushers...the whole book is about how finding meaning in one's life is the primary thing, and how human suffering is universal but can prove to be helpful and give meaning to your existence...good book. It really changed my perscpective on things, so now I look at what I used to think of as my "symptoms" as either being my own personal style or signs of distress. Great book. Also, if you're going to give up medications and what not, it kind of helps to have a way to re-conceptualize your problems..I'd recommend Thomas Szasz, "The Myth Of Mental Illness" and Foucault, "Madness and Civilization" Please keep us all posted..I wish you well.
poster:med_empowered
thread:572188
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051024/msgs/572323.html