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The Importance of Having Support During Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal

During my withdrawal journey, I had very little in-person support. It was extremely difficult to taper for so many years, and then to be cut off the last drug I was tapering abruptly by my doctor, without family or anyone else in my life that really understood what I was going through. When I recollect on how bad my suffering was, I am still surprised that I made it through. Having support, either from online sources or in real life, is crucial. For some, it can mean the difference between life and death. 

I didn’t discover the online support groups right away, but when I did, I was shocked at the number of people that were tapering and coping with psychiatric drug withdrawal and using virtual peer spaces as their sole means of information and support. It was as if the entire medical system abandoned us and didn’t want to help clean up the mess that they caused. In these groups, I read about people who were experiencing the exact same symptoms I was, who were dismissed by doctors, whose families didn’t understand, and who were hanging on for dear life just like I was. I read ferociously for hours, day after day, looking for others to say that the symptoms I was experiencing were normal, they would go away, and that I would heal. I read success stories, sometimes over and over. The words and the people behind them saved me until there was a point where I didn’t need to read them anymore. 

Before long, I was able to help others using my own experiences, and the reading and research I did trying to understand what happened to me. It was then that I signed on to help administrate one of the Facebook groups called “Benzo Recovery.” I was reading and commenting on almost every post that came through so why not help out as an admin, I thought? I am grateful I made that decision because the amount of healing I saw kept me going. I saw peers being more kind to each other than their doctors were. I saw many giving hope and validation to those suffering with severe symptoms. I saw people in crisis being calmed and comforted. I saw hundreds of people heal and move on with their lives. I also saw stories of family members and medical professionals who were dismissive, coercive, and/or abusive. Those were the hardest to read about. Based on my years in the layperson withdrawal community, I venture to say that one of the greatest predictors of suicide may be not having good support. 

During my own journey, I didn’t have family around me to check on me and I didn’t have a partner or children to help me get through. My support mostly came from the people I met in online support groups. During my first year off, I also worked with a therapist who acted like a withdrawal coach for me. However, I had to build trust with her over time to ensure she really understood, as best as she could, what I was going through. The biggest benefit I got from that relationship was that I was able to share my suicidal thoughts with her without her hospitalizing me,  which would have ensured I was put back on meds. This therapist, and my new friends in the online support groups,  gave me constant reassurance that I would get better and that healing was just a matter of time. 

Support may not look like what you truly need and sometimes we have to create these supportive relationships out of thin air while we are struggling beyond measure. Below are some tips about finding meaningful support:

  1. Find a healing buddy in the online support forums. When reading comments in the support groups, look for people you can relate to, who are near the same stage of taper or withdrawal as you, who live near you, or who have things in common with you. 
  2. In some cases, clergy or similar spiritual people who are comfortable with sitting with people who are suffering, may provide good support. Also try other “healers” like reiki practitioners, acupuncturists, yoga teachers, too. 
  3. Find a therapist you can trust. Finding a good therapist should be like a job interview. I urge people to ask “What do you know about withdrawing from ____ (drug name)?” and then be quiet. How they answer that question will tell you everything you need to know. You can also use that question when looking for a taper-friendly doctor. 
  4. Benzo or Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal Coaches are people with lived experience and expertise in supporting you during this process. We have different styles and personalities and getting support from one of us that you feel most aligned with can be extremely helpful. 

Having support, either from online sources or in real life, is crucial. For some, it can mean the difference between life and death.

Support may not look like what you truly need and sometimes we have to create these supportive relationships out of thin air while we are struggling beyond measure. Below are some tips to help you find meaningful support:

  • Find a healing buddy in the online support forums. When reading comments in the support groups, look for people you can relate to, who are near the same stage of taper or withdrawal as you, who live near you, or who have things in common with you.
  • In some cases, clergy or similar spiritual people who are comfortable with sitting with people who are suffering, may provide good support. Also try other “healers” like reiki practitioners, acupuncturists, yoga teachers, too.
  • Find a therapist you can trust. Finding a good therapist should be like a job interview. I urge people to ask “What do you know about withdrawing from ____ (drug name)?” and then be quiet. How they answer that question will tell you everything you need to know. You can also use that question when looking for a taper-friendly doctor.
  • Benzo or Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal Coaches are people with lived experience and expertise in supporting you during this process. We have different styles and personalities and getting support from one of us that you feel most aligned with can be extremely helpful.

What Good Support Looks Like

Having good support looks like this: someone who is able to educate themselves on the topic of withdrawal and is able to tell you that your symptoms are real but they are temporary. Ideally, they can offer you reassurance and be a calming presence while you are going through this. A good place for family members and friends to start learning about this topic would be in watching the documentary Medicating Normal. Also, it would be good to have a discussion about what you will need in the months ahead and this usually includes a lot of reassurance and hope. Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal Coaches are usually able to speak with your family members and/or doctors Perhaps having a crisis plan for when times get really hard would be helpful too.  

And if you just cannot find any meaningful, in-person support, the peer groups online will be your saving grace. You’d be surprised that when you post in the support groups about having a hard time finding support will bring you lots of supportive comments from others experiencing the same!

Angela Peacock

Angela Peacock, MSW served in the U.S. Army for seven years as a communications specialist. She is a mental health advocate, a writer, and a YouTube creator who travels in her campervan across the United States with her service dog Raider, to improve the mental health care system for veterans and civilians alike.