Withdrawal from Psychiatric Medication
… New resources for those looking for information about tapering and how to deal with withdrawal from psychiatric medications.
Laura Delano (in photo above) has created a wonderful resource in the Inner Compass Initiative (https://www.theinnercompass.org/), a website for anyone interested in learning important facts about taking psychiatric medications or choosing to withdraw from them.
When you click on the “learn/ unlearn” section of Inner Compass Initiative (ICI). (https://www.theinnercompass.org/learn-unlearn) you find free detailed information about pharmaceuticals you may not have heard about before. Unfortunately, our primary care physicians and even some psychiatrists 1. May not be aware of this information or 2. Choose not to inform you about some of this information. This is not out of malice but because they are generally not allotted the time to discuss these important issues with you. Of course, learning about the side-effects of psychiatric medications is a vital part of your being able to make informed decisions about taking psychiatric medications.
When you click on the Withdrawal Project at ICI (https://withdrawal.theinnercompass.org/), you find free information that can be of help to anyone looking to taper off psychiatric medications. It is not recommended that people do the tapering or withdrawal alone, but rather under the supervision of someone who is very knowledgeable about these processes. That being said, Inner Compass gives some recommendations for self-care that can be helpful for anyone in the process of tapering or withdrawal.
Why Did Laura Develop ICI?
Inner Compass Initiative has developed the mini-booklets, articles and Q&As in this section because descriptions of psychiatric diagnoses and treatments that are provided by most major medical and mental health websites are usually brief, vague and more “promotional” than factual. There are many reasons that some of these websites might knowingly or unwittingly promote misleading ideas about diagnoses and treatments – reasons that are explained in detail in some of our essays. Conversely, we believe that when seeking information to help make serious, potentially life-changing decisions about the well-being of your own (or a friend or loved one’s) body, brain, mind and spirit, you deserve a fairer opportunity to understand and evaluate the facts and potential risks and benefits. We believe that everyone deserves to be empowered to make truly informed choices.
Where does Laura’s experience come from?
From the ICI website:
The passion she feels for the mission and vision of ICI arises from the fourteen years she spent lost in the mental health system and the journey that she’s been on since 2010, when she chose to leave behind a “mentally ill” identity and the various treatments that came with it, and gradually began to rediscover and reconnect with who she really was and what it means to suffer, struggle, and be human in this world. Through her personal journey she’s come to believe that the darkest parts of ourselves are often our best teachers, and that our pain is something to listen to, lean into, explore, learn and grow from—not fear, suppress, run away from, or pathologize and seek to shut down.
Since becoming an “ex-patient”, Laura has been writing and speaking about her personal experiences and about the broader social and political issues sitting at the heart of “mental illness” and “mental health”.
If you are interested in effective alternatives for managing mental health disturbances
Consider courses and presentations here . Rest assured we have reviewed the sources for you so you don’t have to spend time exploring the internet for qualified experts.
We are looking for information about tapering off a medication that his doctor’s Director level boss said he should not be on. His psychiatrist focuses on adding more meds, but is not providing plan to taper off a med that the Division Chief “World renowned “ doctor herself said should be stopped. Instead, at the first sign of withdrawal difficulty, the lower level Dr. backed off the Division Director’s plan to take him off!
March 13, 2025
To Whom it May Concern,
A petition has been started on Change.org that is co-authored by myself and my friend Amanda. We are both currently suffering from severe Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS). The title of the online document is ‘Petition for Change in the Mental Health System and Psychopharmacology.’ The intent is to use this petition as an awareness campaign to bring more needed attention to the topic of PAWS as it relates to psychotropic medications. In addition, we also want to bring added attention to the topics of Benzodiazepine Induced Neurological Dysfunction (BIND), Tardive Dyskinesia (TD), and Akathisia (AKA): all severely debilitating afflictions that receive too little attention, funding, and research. We hope to be a part of the ongoing effort by the withdrawal community to effect the needed changes. Change.org receives millions of views every year from around the world and there are many petitions covering many different topics. It is our hope that posting the information on Change.org will help to spread the information beyond the withdrawal community and raise awareness of the suffering that so many are enduring. People who sign can also leave comments about their own experiences or leave their opinions. These comments along with the signature lists will ultimately be forwarded to the listed decision makers, medical providers, public health organizations, as well as various media outlets. The petition includes a long list of references for those readers who desire more detailed technical information. It also contains a list of references pertaining to withdrawal and links to tapering support websites.
It is our hope that, upon review of this petition, you will help us in our efforts to spread this information as far and as wide as possible by posting this petition on your website or social media page to make it easier to find and to continue collecting signatures and comments. The link is:
https://www.change.org/p/petition-for-change-in-the-mental-health-system-and-psychopharmacology?source_location=search
Thanks kindly for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Rich Johnson – USN Retired
Amanda McBarron – NP