As a former depression patient and a recovering person, many people will ask me about my medication and current situation, especially whether I stop taking drugs has become the focus of attention. Summarized my personal experience in drug rehabilitation, including my mental journey, and shared it with you here.

Because the cause of depression is very complicated, involving physiological, psychological, individual and social factors, each patient's degree and symptoms are different. My views and opinions are only summarized according to my own state, for your reference only.

First of all, my symptoms and medication

First, talk about my symptoms. In addition to the typical symptoms of depression, such as pessimism, lack of motivation, loss of vitality, self-blame and insomnia, I also have a strong suicidal intention, suicidal behavior, disintegration of personality, numbness and loss of social function. Mania symptoms are high spirits, full of energy, talkative, like to go out, and bursting with happiness.

The above symptoms need professional doctors to judge and diagnose, and individuals should remember to sit in the right position.

Secondly, tell me about my medication. In chronological order, I put the used drugs in order:

2065438+At the beginning of 2006, Sertraline, Zopiclone, Lv Kang

2065438+March 2006, venlafaxine, Lucan, clonazepam, mirtazapine, aripiprazole and alprazolam.

From 2065438 to June 2006, venlafaxine, Luyao, Aminine, Siruikang and Diazepam were infused intravenously.

2065438+August 2006, venlafaxine, Le Kang, Aminen, Sirikan, lithium carbonate.

I have seen four doctors, the first three diagnosed me as depression, and the fourth diagnosed me as bipolar disorder II. Every doctor adjusts my medication according to his own judgment. The first doctor showed me in the outpatient department of the hospital when my symptoms were mild at the beginning of my illness. At that time, I was very resistant to drugs and didn't want to accept drug treatment, so I took sertraline, zopiclone and Lukan for a short time, only for a few days, and personally felt that it was of no reference value.

Aripiprazole and alprazolam were used by doctors for the symptoms of my personality disintegration. Later, because I learned that depersonalization is an accompanying symptom of depression, drugs have little effect on it at present. If the depression is relieved, the symptoms of personality disintegration will naturally disappear, so I stopped taking the medicine soon.

Venlafaxine can be said to have been used continuously since I took the initiative to take the medicine. The maximum dose I took was 225 mg.

Lucan is the main medicine for my anxiety.

Clonazepam, mirtazapine, Aminine and Sirikang are the main drugs used to treat my early waking symptoms. At that time, after taking clonazepam and mirtazapine for a period of time, they developed drug resistance, so the doctor changed to amizine and Sirikan.

Lithium carbonate is used as a stabilizer, and the maximum dose I take is six tablets.

Second, exit the program.

Personally, I define my medication period as one year, from March 20 16 to March 20 17. The reason for this definition is that I came to Shanghai from 2065438 to March 2007 to restore my social function. In my personal opinion, the recovery of social function is an important sign that I have entered the rehabilitation period.

After coming to Shanghai, I began to enter the attenuated period. Drug reduction in patients with depression is a very sensitive topic. At present, there is very little mature experience in drug reduction and withdrawal. When it comes to drug reduction, doctors will be very cautious and would rather kill 3 thousand by mistake than let go of a risk factor. Therefore, in order to be on the safe side, most doctors try to extend the medication time to ensure that depression will not come back. Because the probability of depression recurrence is 50%, and once it recurs, it will be more difficult to treat, especially if it recurs more than three times. The academic view is to take medicine for life.

The above views are generally accepted by the public at present, and I personally agree with them. I think personal experience is very important in detoxification. Some people think that I am willing to take the medicine for life, and I think it is acceptable. There is no need to stop taking it. Some people think I don't want to take medicine, but I don't know what else to do in the face of symptoms, so it's best not to stop taking medicine.

I belong to a person who believes in the function of drugs, but I won't put all my hopes on drugs, so during the period of taking drugs, I studied and personally tried psychotherapy methods, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness therapy, psychoanalysis and so on. That is to say, I was in parallel with medicine and psychology, and I was also in fitness.

I remember that in the process of constantly adjusting my medication, the doctor told me to stop the drug I wanted to change, and stopped it directly, even without a buffer period, so I was not so nervous about stopping the drug at that time. Of course, in the process from drug reduction to drug withdrawal, it is still more cautious.

First of all, I have to confirm by myself how much my symptoms have recovered.

This process is actually not easy and takes a long time. You need to observe your symptoms and even know your symptoms like the back of your hand. In the process of reducing your medicine, you should always confirm with yourself.

Some people will say that I will relapse after stopping taking the medicine. My opinion is that your symptoms have been there all the time, but the medicine was temporarily controlled, but you thought it was recovery, so you stopped taking the medicine and the symptoms came back.

In addition, the so-called drug relapse, my point is that drugs can control symptoms, but it does not mean that they can completely inhibit symptoms. The concentration of drugs and external stimuli will lead to repeated symptoms, so everyone needs to have a rational and objective understanding of drugs. For example, cold medicine, its role is to help you relieve the symptoms of stuffy nose, runny nose and fever, but it does not mean that it can keep you away from stuffy nose, runny nose and fever.

It is very important to discuss with your doctor whether to stop taking medicine. If the doctor insists that he can't stop taking the medicine, then don't try.

Secondly, after confirming with yourself, start with the minimum dose that you can accept.

Personally, I don't recommend stopping taking medicine immediately, especially for patients who have been taking medicine for a long time, because suddenly stopping taking medicine will have a serious withdrawal reaction, which will have adverse effects on the body and our personal state. Therefore, we can take a step-by-step approach. The reason why I say starting with the minimum dose you can accept is because everyone has different psychological endurance, and at the same time, it is also to minimize withdrawal reactions.

Personally, according to different drugs, some drugs are reduced by a quarter, some by half, and some by one tablet. It should be noted here that some drugs are sustained-release tablets, which cannot be taken separately, and must be taken as a whole, so you can consider switching to similar small-dose drugs when stopping taking drugs. For example, my venlafaxine was taking Bolexin. When I stopped taking it, I started to switch to Enos. Although the ingredients are the same, the dosage is different, so the psychological burden will be less when stopping the drug.

In the process of reducing your medicine, you should keep a caring attitude to observe yourself, including feeling yourself. If there are repeated symptoms in the process, it is necessary to confirm whether it is caused by drug withdrawal or external stimulation. For example, if you are depressed because of an external factor, you should treat it normally at this time.

Third, find a way to replace drugs.

For example, if you have a fracture, you need to walk with crutches when you enter the recovery period. You can slowly put down your crutches, but your bones are still very fragile at this time, and you need to practice slowly against the wall until you can walk freely.

The same is true for patients with depression who stop taking drugs. Besides drugs, you should find an alternative method, which can be exercise, favorite dance, psychotherapy and even religion. Any method is acceptable as long as it can help you reduce the impact of symptoms on you.

When you encounter repeated symptoms during withdrawal, you can rely on the methods you find to help you get through withdrawal smoothly, and you can also escort you after withdrawal. The way I personally found is psychotherapy, so this is also an important reason why I personally love psychotherapy.

Finally, it is necessary to be able to distinguish between withdrawal reactions and symptoms.

The slower the withdrawal, the lighter the withdrawal reaction will be. The most painful withdrawal reaction I encountered at that time was orthostatic hypotension. The whole person was walking, and I felt that my head was going to fall in minutes, and I was dizzy and weak. Also, when I stop taking sleep AIDS, I will still wake up early. At this time, if you can't accept this symptom and don't do a good job in psychological construction, it will be difficult to stop taking drugs. Therefore, it is also important to do your own sleep management. Withdrawal reaction has many symptoms similar to depression, so we need to learn more and learn to distinguish them.

Third, the principle of drug withdrawal

First, if you can't confirm your recovery, don't stop taking the medicine.

Second, there is no way to help you control your symptoms except drugs. Don't stop taking drugs.

Third, if you can't accept that the symptoms are repeated after stopping the drug, and you can't accept that there are still residual symptoms, don't stop the drug.

The above are some experiences and feelings I have summed up in the process of drug rehabilitation, and I would like to share them with you. There are still some unfinished things, and I will communicate with you when I think about it later.

Detoxification does not mean the end, but a more difficult beginning. After stopping taking drugs, we should care about ourselves and protect ourselves. Because a certain part of us is actually very fragile and needs more care and love. Love yourself, this is an eternal topic. I believe that love can heal all wounds, and time is a gift, which can make this power more energetic.