Holistic Approaches

[ineedthesun]

Trying to wean off meds and go the holistic approach, any advice, thoughts, experiences?😬

[Megapanda]

The first thing to do is to speak to your doctor as they will help you come of it safely as you will have to lower the dose first . You are likely to get side effects and rise in anxiety when you first start coming off them .Make sure you have a good support system in place and/ or a therapist / support group .

Make sure you have copying strategies that you know works .

Sometimes you may have to go back on your meds or try different ones that doesn't mean you have failed .

[Scarlett28]

Hi 👋 I’m all about a holistic approach too. All I’m doing now is eating healthy, lots of vegetables & lean meat, tuna/salmon. Supplementing magnesium glycinate, vitamin d, bcomplex, zinc, omega. Your profile name is important, we need the sun. I walk outside every day & listen to music or an online audiobook from the library. If there are things you currently do please share, I’m interested.

[ineedthesun in reply to Scarlett28]

Thank you so much for this! I am pescatarian and dairy free so lots of fish already but so good to know that fish is helpful. I just started taking omega and b-complex and spend most of my time outside as much as possible!

[Blueruth]

Does holistic include talk therapy, exercise and a healthy whole food diet? You can do those right now with virtually no contraindications. Having those things in place will make your life so much easier for withdrawal and able to assess if it is a good idea. I think a lot of people think holistic means you take “natural “ treatments but that is just a substitute for pharmaceuticals. Holistic in my mind is about treating body and mind at the same time. All mental health treatment can and should be holistic.

[ineedthesun in reply to Blueruth]

Yes, I agree with that 100% and that is what I mean. I have also heard of people taking supplements or certain vitamins to help. Even before meds I have done psychotherapy, CBT, spent lots of time outdoors and have a healthy diet, but it didn't seem to be enough. I'm still doing all the same, but now considering weaning off meds after a little over a year because I have had pretty bad side effects that aren't really worth keeping the med around.

[Blueruth in reply to ineedthesun]

Unfortunately I’ve never seen convincing evidence that supplements or vitamins work as a substitute. I have seen convincing studies that placebos work. There is power in belief. 🤷🏻‍♀️

you could come up with a plan to end the meds with your therapist or doctor. Something that includes strategies to help you be resilient when things are down.

[ineedthesun in reply to Blueruth]

Very true. I have therapy today and will mention it. thank you for your feedback!

[Hidden]

I think it’s great your trying to be holistic!!!! Just wanted to say don’t be surprised if you still need at least one or two prescribed medications. They were created for a reason after all.

[ineedthesun in reply to Hidden]

That's true.. I have such a hard time believing in modern medicine, doctors, etc. because of poor experiences I have had in the past but am trying to work through it

[designguy]

Make sure you taper slowly off the meds to give your mind and body time to readjust. There is also a good book you might check out: The anti-anxiety food solution by Trudy Scott that has a lot of good information about food, natural supplements and life-style for mood support. You can find it on amazon.