Need Answers And Opions

[invisible survivor]

OK here it goes. I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. (That is hard for me to say) but anyway I finally broke down to day and went to the doctor. She prescribed some ant anxitey and some sleep meds. But something I don't understand and I hope y'all might fan help. If my therapist wants me to learn to feel my emotions and learn to deal with them then what good is a medicine going to do. I mean aren't medicine to control the emotions how can I learn to indentify them if the medicine nubs them (which is what I have been doing all the years without meds. I just don't get it. And by taking meds am I admitting how weak I am.

 

[SeaBreeze]

Invisable one

You are smarter than the majority so understand this. You have the capability to think outside of the box and good for you.
You have entered into the mental health profession as it is. If it appears condradictory, its because you are clever enough to see through it. Never ever doubt yourself. This is imperative if you should ever expect to heal.

The drugs will interfere with your intuition and natual instincts. They will inhibit your ability to feel emotions. The system is designed to cover up our feelings and at the same time express our feelings. If this sounds really f__ked up to you, its because you already have wisdom. And wisdom is the highest intelligence of all.

If you were to find a true honest to goodness trusting friend, one who would stand by you and you would stand by them no matter what, how would that make you feel? What if this true friend knew you better than anyone else in the world has ever known you or will ever know you, would you trust them? Try and understand that this person is you.

There is a cure for us. I know what it is. It would cost a tiny fraction compared to the money spent in health care.
It would be fun, exciting, exhilerating. It would be so incredible wonderful that I'd be willing to bet it would have a reverse effect on our brains and that our bodies and spirits would actually heal ourselves.

To those who tell us our brains have been injured and that we have to fall victim again to traditional medicine and held in hostage by the mental health profession, I can only say that this is what you have been doing since 1973 when they killed my 17 year old brother and did everything they could to cover up the truths. Only thing was, there was a 16 year old girl who was the sister and best friend to that boy they murdered by medical negligence. And that was me.

This was the first trauma in my life, yet still didn't prepare me for the current methods practiced today. I admit I was naive and thought things would have improved after all these years, yet they didn't. I developed PTSD because the mental health Dr.'s assisted me in developing it. Its a long story I won't get into here.

Trust yourself. No matter what fight tooth and nail and remain conscious. If you feel that little nagging feeling inside of you that says, heh this just doesn't sound right, you have to learn to listen to this. Because these are our instincts. Or intuition.
If you listen to these quiet voices spoken with no words, they will teach you all you have to know.

I'm proud of you. You questioned authority. You must have brains and courage to do this.
SeaBreeze

 

[catjudo]

Taking medication is an individual decision. What is the right choice for one person may not be for another. You have to work with your doctor as a team to determine what is the best course of action for yourself. Sometimes it may be necessary to take medication to help with anxiety or sleep issues in order to allow you to work on learning coping skills before you're able to proceed with feeling your emotions and processing your trauma. Needing medication is not a sign of weakness. (Is a diabetic weak because they have to rely on insulin?) That being said, taking anti-anxiety medication and sleep medication is not a decision to be made lightly. You'll need to educate yourself and talk with both your doctor and therapist to help decide if it is the best decision for you.

 

[kers]

My treatment team recommended medication in the beginning. I was very reluctant, but my therapist explained it this way: I am in a locked room, trying to get out. Medication unlocks the door, and therapy teaches me to walk through it. My nervous system was so shot that I couldn't do the work of therapy until I muted the terror a little bit with meds. Having done the hardest part of the trauma work, I am now tapering off the meds.

As catjudo says, this is a difficult and individual decision. It's one that you needn't feel pushed into. I would suggest taking the questions you ask here to your doctor so you can discuss your concerns further. Do you have a therapist or support group in addition to the doctor? That's an important component of treatment, too.

 

[Deleted member 541]

If you are worried about using meds, then make a plan for just a short term use of them, so that you can regulate yourself/your emotions, to help with working on yourself. They do help, but it is a personal decision for all of us.

 

[Grama-Herc]

I would be lost if I did not have my meds. The help they gave me during my initial diagnosis period is indescribable. It is difficult to understand in the beginning but as time goes on and you beging to digest the issues you have and the proper way to handle them, it is possible you can discontinue your meds.

Personally, this will not be an option for me. My meds keep me level, so to speak. I am able to *see* my incorrrect thinking patterns now and thus avoid the kind of horrible decisions I made in the past.

But I don't think anyone looks at us as if we are weak just because we need meds. We have an illness. Some illnesses require meds.