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Great experience withdrawing through meditation class


dreamingneonblack

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Okay so no withdrawal experience can ever be great, but I say it relatively speaking.

 

I'm having withdrawals from a bout-of-panic taper (see my introduction about health insurance no longer covering my meds) I did last week. Two nights ago, I decided to go to my meditation class anyway. After meditation (we alternate between sitting and walking meditation where we try to focus on the present moment only, particularly the breath) we do contemplation. During this point we go around and introduce ourselves and if we choose we can add what we think. I had crazy anxiety at the thought of the attention turning to me and I'd stutter or try to explain my ideas but fail because of the brain fog and forgetfulness. I decided to continue my meditation by focusing on that present moment and experiencing my physical symptoms. I started to enjoy my anxiety because I realized how alert I felt. Not only that but I was wide awake and I'm usually so tired. My thoughts stopped racing because I was no longer focused on the future of all the ways I could fail and/or embarrass myself. I figured I might mess up and I think I could have explained myself better, but I did it and had a few people come up and chat with me after about what I said. Even before the positive reinforcement I realized it was the first time I could reflect back on an anxiety attack and think positively about it when I'm used to feeling so much shame.

 

Later, somebody told me that they try to meditate in everything that they do all day everyday. I decided to try this at work the following day as I was a bit panicky about my first withdrawals fresh out of college and into my career. I thought it was going to be worse because I would be more focused on the feelings of withdrawal but I think I was able to recover some of my work efficiency through the brain fog and even remember details a bit better than usual (imagine when I won't be withdrawing!).

 

I guess it makes sense that it would block my anxiety since anxiety is completely future-centric.

 

Fingers crossed I can keep at least half of this mental strength during the harsher moments of my withdrawals. I hope some of you may consider attempting this and get some relief from it as I did.

2011 on paxil 10mg

2013 switched to oral suspension, 10mg

No documentation of tapers in this time period

2015 tapered down to 4.8 mg

2016 after enduring extreme depression for 6 months, psychiatrist suggested returning to previous dose. Back up to 5.2 mg

2017 4.8 mg  

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  • 2 months later...

Doing Meditation atleast for an hour helps in coming of withdrawal. Certain Neuro-Chemicals they tend to move across required Brain regions during meditation.

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Meditation is definitely supportive in the withdrawal process. It won’t magically remove all fears and worries, but it is a way to become aware of your resistence to them when they arise. After all it’s your resistence that keeps them alive and even adds wheight to them. So eventually through meditation you are the one dealing with whatever hurts you by growing as a person.

Took my first SSRI sipralexa/lexapro/escitalopram in 2007 for depression. In 2010 the doctor switched me to paroxetine/seroxat/paxil for anxiety.

My paroxetine story from then on:

 

2010-15 from 10mg up to 20mg

jan 2016 30mg

may 2016 0mg cold turkey (don't!)

dec 2016 symptoms: anxiety, tremor (could barely stand)

jan 2017 reinstated at 7.5mg to taper in steps of 10%

...

Dose changes from may 2017 to now: 

5.0/4.7/4.4/4.0/3.7/3.5/3.3/3.1mg

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  • 1 month later...
On 06/05/2017 at 3:08 PM, excuse said:

Doing Meditation atleast for an hour helps in coming of withdrawal. Certain Neuro-Chemicals they tend to move across required Brain regions during meditation.

 

Is there any information you know of which supports this idea?

.

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7 hours ago, Hantise said:

 

Is there any information you know of which supports this idea?

Here is the complete article.

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3190564/

 

Small snippet " Serotonin increase can interact with dopamine and this link may enhance the feelings of euphoria seen during meditation. ... There is an increase in the levels of the amino acid neurotransmitters, namely glutamate and GABA, during meditation "

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I imagine it is very helpful in managing the withdrawal, even though not offering permanent relief.

 

Btw, I've read about GABA somewhere else...what is it about GABA I wonder that helps the brain? I'm not an expert so can't say for sure, but it's a neurotransmitter which helps to inhibit excitability of the central nervous system, or something. The thing I read mentioned that aged whisky does something a bit strange..it increases the intensity of GABA receptor response, or something...but don't know if this is helpful for us here or not. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12926865

.

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  • 6 months later...

Yep, meditation can be life changing. Without it I don't think I could have ever come off meds. I've seen people in even worse mental states than I was completely healed purely from dedicated meditation practice. It takes a while to train your mind but if you keep it up you can transform it. I hope you're doing well and this is helping you :)

2008-2013 - Various meds on and off since age 18 incl. Sertraline, Prozac, Mirtazipine, Abilify. Prescribed for severe OCD.

CT'd several times over these years and reinstated after subsequent psych hospitalisations.

2014-2015 - Clomipramine, quetiapine and Epilum

2015-Jan 2017 - Prozac 40mg (stopped contraceptive pill, most stable period of time)

(Beginning of taper) Jan-October 2017 - Tapered Prozac to zero.

15 Jan 2018 - Reinstated Prozac at 2mg due to acute w/d symptoms

February 2018 - tapered to 1.8mg

May 2018 - reinstated at 5mg due to severe w/d symptoms. 9 month hold, stabilized well at around 6/7 months.

March 2019 - Tapered to 4.9mg

Current supplements: fish oils, probiotic, ashwaganda, colostrum powder, cannabis

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

This is a great post.  I was looking into joining a meditation class but my mind darts in so many directions that I'm afraid I won't be present enough.  I know the goal is to reach being present through meditation, but how do I do this when I feel like jumping out of my skin and pacing?  I guess my fear is making a fool of myself and then having to explain myself.  Can I ask you what meditation you practice?  The one I have nearby is a branch of a Hindu meditation.

<p>10 years of ssri and finally tapered off in 2 years. Off Celexa by jan/28/2014 and off benzos by March/6th/2014 after only two months use and still experiencing withdrawal symptoms.

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21 minutes ago, Tootsieroll said:

This is a great post.  I was looking into joining a meditation class but my mind darts in so many directions that I'm afraid I won't be present enough.  I know the goal is to reach being present through meditation, but how do I do this when I feel like jumping out of my skin and pacing?  I guess my fear is making a fool of myself and then having to explain myself.  Can I ask you what meditation you practice?  The one I have nearby is a branch of a Hindu meditation.

meditation has really helped me , I use this website: https://www.headspace.com/   this website makes it really simple to learn and there are many courses for different problems

2001 - 2005 prozac,  2001 - 2017 various benzos, mainly diazapem and zanex,  2002 - 2017 olanzapine or seroquel,  2002 -2017 propanolol, 2005 - 2009 venlafaxine 75mg , forced to go cold turkey off venlafaxine as moved Thailand, doctor cut me off and couldn't get it there, severely ill for over 2 years, countered withdrawals with more zanex and seroquel

2014 returned to UK, mainly to get treatment getting off meds

doctor advised to taper seroquel over a few weeks, severely ill and bed bed-bound so reinstated it, 2015 tapered seroquel myself slower over a few months, was off it 2 months and was too ill so went on olanzapine, became zombie and too tired to get out of bed, went back on seroquel, very depressed so went back on venlafaxine, didnt work  so doctor swapped to zoloft became very agitated so back on venlafaxine

June 2016 - felt strong enough to begin tapering again, started what I thought was a slow taper of all meds,  2016 July Not had any alcoholic drink since this date, 

2016 October completely off diazepem, 2017 Feb completely off seroquel, 2017 March completely off proponanlol, 2017 April (day before birthday) completely off venlafaxine, OFF ALL MEDS 11/4/2017, was fine for nearly 3 months and then delayed withdrawal hit,

supplements taking: turmeric capsules, NiaCel (nicotinamide riboside), Vit B12 sublingual, Vit B3, Vit B6, Vit B1, apple cider vinegar, manuka umf 10 honey, camu camu powder,  melatonin when needed, epsom salt baths, juices, smoothies, 

Intro: http://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/15175-dj2010-off-all-meds-for-3-months-and-been-fine-now-bad-insomnia/

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  • 1 month later...
On 1/28/2018 at 12:20 AM, Tootsieroll said:

This is a great post.  I was looking into joining a meditation class but my mind darts in so many directions that I'm afraid I won't be present enough.  I know the goal is to reach being present through meditation, but how do I do this when I feel like jumping out of my skin and pacing?  I guess my fear is making a fool of myself and then having to explain myself.  Can I ask you what meditation you practice?  The one I have nearby is a branch of a Hindu meditation.

 

I practice Shambhala style mainly. They have videos on youtube that you can follow. What I like about the class is that we alternate between sitting and walking meditation. The walking is my favorite because I'm able to stay focused and clear much better. I tend to focus on the feeling of my feet touching the ground and sometimes play with my toes grasping the floor to stay present. I think you might be able to use the pacing to your advantage if you try to focus on the pacing or twitching in a way that you remember to stay in the moment and experience what you're feeling as neutrally as possible.

2011 on paxil 10mg

2013 switched to oral suspension, 10mg

No documentation of tapers in this time period

2015 tapered down to 4.8 mg

2016 after enduring extreme depression for 6 months, psychiatrist suggested returning to previous dose. Back up to 5.2 mg

2017 4.8 mg  

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