Dear arose91:

Chemical imbalance is not something one is born with. There is a two way interaction between experiences in life and chemicals released in the brain. The idea that depression can be managed like diabetes: simply add insulin/ inadequate serotonin or the like is incorrect.

I was told that I will need the anti depressants and anti anxiety I took (17 years) for the rest of my life. And the few times I tried to get off those within those 17 years- I failed. I too was scared to try again, especially after the last effort of a couple of months of abstaining (my anxiety increased to levels I did not experience when I first made an appointment with the psychiatrist).

I managed to finally get off all the drugs (SSRI anti depressants, Klonipin and Seroquel) in October 2013- and took absolutely no psychiatric drugs since. Neither did I self medicate with any drug. I did so by using the skills I learned in therapy through guided meditation, mindfulness, observing my thoughts and fear from a calm place in the brain (not being fully identified with the anxiety, that is having a place in the brain calm enough to observe, from there, the anxious part).

Will be glad to share more if you’d like. Let me know.

anita

I was told