How do i survive psychiatry?

I am not sure if this is where I post. I am a 41 year old female. I was about to get married but was feeling some anxiety, I was given lexapro then klonopin and I have never been the same. it has been a year now with 2 hopitalizations and an A-typical bipolar diagnosis. I am now on Lamictal, Abilify, and Valium. I still feel awful and know that I have been labeled bipolar because they don't know what else to do with me. I want off of all of these meds but when I try I hit a downward spiral only to end up in the hospital on more drugs. I feel that these drugs are the cause of all my mental instability and the only treatment at the same time. I feel hopeless and am horrified with how little the pdocs really listen to you. I don't know what to do any more.

That's what the mental health field is built to do. Make money off of you. Label you and take your life away. Sorry that you fell victim to there labels. They don't care about anything you say, they are taught to look at everyone of there patients as a mental patient which causes discrimination and perpetuates there limited insight. There meds are known to have horrible side effects and they still advise them to every and anyone that they can in the name of profit.

brandkins wrote:I am not sure if this is where I post. I am a 41 year old female. I was about to get married but was feeling some anxiety, I was given lexapro then klonopin and I have never been the same. it has been a year now with 2 hopitalizations and an A-typical bipolar diagnosis. I am now on Lamictal, Abilify, and Valium. I still feel awful and know that I have been labeled bipolar because they don't know what else to do with me. I want off of all of these meds but when I try I hit a downward spiral only to end up in the hospital on more drugs. I feel that these drugs are the cause of all my mental instability and the only treatment at the same time. I feel hopeless and am horrified with how little the pdocs really listen to you. I don't know what to do any more.

Clonopin and Valium stuff like it, benzos, create withdrawal reactions as tolerance rises but the dosage stays the same, follow me ? Higher tolerance with same dose now feels like withdrawals or 'symptoms' for them to label.

SSRIs ?? posts all over the net about withdrawals and 'side' effects including getting labelled bipolar !

So then to deal with that they start adding things like Lamictal, Abilify... that cause "oppositional tolerance" meaning that when you stop taking them again you get kinda sick, anxiety, insomnia... 'mania' all that.

I did the same thing, going to the hospital with anxiety... from hell, insomnia, all that after being loaded up on this 'medication' both when I ran out or when I was trying to get off it.

But because I was 'addicted' (dependent) on benzodiazepines like Clonopin they gave me, I was labelled with a substance 'abuse' problem (blame the victim).

My very long very very short, I went for substance 'abuse' treatment (rehab) and finally told the psych label and pill pushers to F off and went through the horrible horrible withdrawals and got better. But you "have" bipolar... they tell me. F off , I like my so called 'bipolar' better than your pills ...

Q : How do i survive psychiatry?

Well I survived it cause I had read all about 'anti psychiatry' (the truth) and stopped letting them screw me up. I also finally remembered I was better BEFORE taking any pills.

To answer your question how to survive this stuff. IMO, I survived because I have never had any mental issues and your story seems a lot like mines in that something happened in your life that was more than just in your head or mind.

Think back to all of the things that happened in your life before this happened. You had plenty of chances to lose it or develop these so-called mental issues. If the situation with your failed engagement had never happened maybe you never end up in the clutches of these mental health vultures. Thus, the way I look at things you don't have some mental health issue, or issue that is only in your head. Did you re-act incorrectly to the situation? Maybe or maybe not, but no-one has the right to tell you rather or not you re-acted correctly or incorrectly to a situation as long as you don't harm anyone or yourself because its not there situation and everyone handles things differently. When dealing with someone that handles things differently there are several options. In hindsight you probably chose the wrong option by going to see mental health vultures, because they only know one option and that is to label you. Basically I am saying even if you needed help moving on dealing with the mental health field is usually more harmful than helpful in my experience.

They supposedly have to get you off those harmful meds if you ask them to. I am blessed that I never took meds for more than a month in a row. I always new that I don't have any issues that are totally in my head and that the meds were harmful and only took them to appease family members but I was never going to be a tool for such a harmful industry. I think the next phase of your survival story is to decide rather or not you want off meds and contact those doctors and let them know that using drugs to alter your mind may no longer be acceptable.

Thank You so much for all of your insight. I have been slowly weening myself off of the valium so I am just about done with that. I also have a 3 year old son so I am trying to figure out the best way to ween off the other stuff. (hopefully with the help of a doctor) I need my mind to take care of my son. I was normal before all of this (I did have anxiety and some panic issues but bipolar come on!) I worked and had a good life. I feel as though that has all been ripped from me. I just want my life back! oh yea I am also Peri-menopausal so that doesn't help