You know me . . . "Withdrawal" is practically my middle name. Maybe that's what the "W" in my name stands for! BUT, today I want to explore the topic of when it's NOT a good time to withdraw from psychiatric medications.
Read on for a story about a patient who was not quite ready to withdraw from her medications, but then became ready through her healing process and a practical list of other factors that make medication withdrawal premature.
When is medication withdrawal premature?
Putting the cart before the horse…
Natalie, a busy business owner, heard about my work from a friend and scheduled an appointment with me to withdraw from her medications: some mood stabilizers, an antidepressant, an antipsychotic, and some thyroid medications.
During our initial intake appointment, however, Natalie shared that she had been dealing with breast cancer. She also talked about how lonely it felt to be single in her 50's. She hoped that I could help by either healing her cancer or helping her decide how to treat it. Unfortunately, my skills lay elsewhere.
Instead, I suggested that we temporarily put aside the goal of medication withdrawal and deal with her despondency and loneliness. I hoped that by initiating nutritional supports and improving her self-worth, confidence, and stress resilience through energy medicine techniques and functional interventions that she would be able to meet her life challenges more easily.
To our delight, Natalie did very well with her treatment. Her deep sense of loneliness resolved, and she felt lighter and happier despite her challenging circumstances. She did some research on her own and found a treatment protocol for her cancer that met her needs.
A few months into working together, I found that Natalie had healed so much that her body was primed and ready to lower her medications. She has done well with her taper and energy work ever since.
What I've found helpful in Natalie's treatment process—advising her to address her emotional burdens before lowering her medications—is true for many patients.
In the past, I felt obliged to deliver what patients expected from me: a safe medication withdrawal— like having a shoe shop and selling a pair of shoes to all the customers who came in. Clinical experiences have taught me, however, that medication withdrawal is not like selling a pair of shoes.
For a safe and sustainable withdrawal, the patient must heal their underlying causes, embedded traumas, social stressors, and negative mindsets. I also came to realize that I had to treat the whole person with both functional and energy approaches in order to help the person gain true freedom from chronic suffering.
When is Medication Withdrawal Premature? Here is a partial list of factors that make medication withdrawal very difficult:
1) Severe social stressors. Having cancer, being dumped by one's fiance a week before the wedding, hating one's job . . . these types of stressors may not be measurable with a lab test, but they do make medication withdrawal very difficult. Although some stressors cannot be resolved, healing treatment can help the patient reach inner wisdom and peace despite life's challenges. This is possible with both functional and energy medicine supports.
2) Feeling unwell before tapering. Generally, symptoms signal the presence of underlying causes for mental illness, which need to be adequately treated before tapering a medication. Sometimes the medication may be a big cause of side effects, so energy medicine techniques can be used to minimize side effects. Sometimes, medication side effects are due to depleted glutathione levels. Either way, symptoms need to decrease before initiating a taper.
3) Unresolved traumas. PTSD and unresolved abuse create blockages in energy and subconscious cycles of suffering. They need to be healed at the subconscious, energy level or life will seem like reruns of the same patterns of abuse and suffering, just with different faces and circumstances. The goal is joy and freedom, not a chronic pattern of pain (on or off medications).
4) Multiple failed attempts with medication withdrawal. Unfortunately, oxidative stress, inflammation, and negative consequences from repeated prior episodes of unsuccessful medication withdrawal can cause permanent physiological damage that makes a successful medication withdrawal less feasible. Or, even if the withdrawal is successful, the damaged functions may never return.
5) Noncompliant/irresponsible patient. In my practice, medication withdrawal is complex in terms of juggling supplements and energy medicine. Doing so requires discipline and reliability. It's a habit that can be developed, and perhaps the spiritual price of true health. Some patients just can't take many supplements due to their debilitating condition. If that is the case, a heavy reliance on energy medicine will be necessary to shoulder the work of healing. If the patient, however, cannot connect to Life Energy when they do Energy Breaths or don't benefit from energy medicine techniques, then I doubt I will be able to help them with a successful withdrawal (but perhaps another clinician can . . . ).
In hindsight, the list above seems pretty obvious to me now, but it wasn't obvious to me ten years ago. Though research has connected the dots between stress and physiological changes, many people are not aware how stress can undermine medication withdrawal. I hope my list will help those who are just beginning to learn about the whole process.