The total lack of education that psychiatrists (and GPS) have on harm reduction tapering and full side effects of psychiatric drugs (“medication”) is a massive failure of the medical community. The fact that patients need to rely on peer support groups is dangerous.
While forums like surviving antidepressants, benzo buddies, subreddits and Facebook groups are literal life-savers for many patients, they’re also potentially dangerous… and I say this as a mod of a women’s benzo group.
When the medical community fails here and lets patients to figure this out, it’s confusing for a vulnerable individual to make a decision. There are so many different voices and opinions.
Some people will urge to you “get off the poison asap!” while others will tell you that unless you taper at 2% per month, your life is over and you’re “permanently damaged!”
Naturally, people most active in groups are often those who are struggling at that point in time. It is no surprise that someone who goes seeking info becomes terrified and looks away because the anticipatory anxiety becomes overwhelming.
As a result, someone could end up making emotionally fueled decisions that might leave them in a difficult, life-adjusting situation. I’ve already observed this happening so many times.
People who feel pressured to rapid-taper other drugs as soon as they’re off benzos because someone told them they “can’t heal” while holding another drug, or they’re “poisoning” themselves. While their intentions might be positive, the outcome is potentially disastrous.
Leaving patients to figure this out and not doing adequate research and providing adequate support must be one of the biggest current failures of medicine. Frankly, psychiatrists everywhere should feel ashamed and embarrassed. I don’t think I could sleep at night tbh.
When is this going to change? Why aren’t psychiatrists learning about harm reduction tapering during their education? Why do patients need to become experts and study the pharmacology of drugs? Why do I need to take new medical journal articles to my doctor?
Imagine if anesthetists didn’t know how to wake patients up after surgery, imagine if surgeons didn’t know how to close up an incision… why is it acceptable that psychiatrists don’t know how to slowly taper patients off psych drugs?
Why aren’t all pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies figuring out how to prepare medication in custom doses for tapering? To use a cliché term - this isn’t rocket science!
It’s 2022. Elon Musk wants to colonise and terraform Mars, and the best we’ve got regarding tapering benzos, antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood-stabilizers etc. is mostly Facebook groups. Ridiculous, awkward, dangerous and embarrassing. Please figure this out and do better.
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