Alternative treatments to help either BEFORE ever going on an antidepressant/atypical antipsychotic, DURING withdrawal of an antidepressant/atypical antipsychotic or AFTER being on antidepressants/atypical antipsychotic to help you get through withdrawal and to rebuild a healthy brain. I have spent several decades looking for various natural non-toxic answers to help patents rebuild their health after the damage caused by these drugs.

Although this list does not mention the standard suggestions such as chiropractic, yoga and acupuncture, all of which are mentioned in my CD on safe withdrawal & in my book, they have proven to be very beneficial in withdrawal and rebuilding and should also be utilized as well.

Keep in mind that the FDA has warned that any abrupt change in dose, whether increasing or decreasing (starting on or discontinuing the drug, skipping doses by forgetting, or when switching from one antidepressant to another where you are both abruptly decreasing one antidepressant AND abruptly increasing the new antidepressant), can cause suicide, hostility or psychosis – generally a manic psychosis which is often diagnosed as Bipolar Disorder or occasionally as Schizophrenia when it remains unrecognised as the result on the abrupt change in dose. Another problem can be if another antidepressant is added to one you are already taking thus producing a synergistic affect.

Withdrawal, especially abrupt withdrawal, from any of these medications can cause severe neuropsychiatric as well as physical symptoms, both of which can be life threatening. It is therefore, very important to withdraw extremely slowly from these drugs, often over a period of a year or more depending upon how long you have been on any antidepressant or mix of antidepressant, under the supervision of a qualified and experienced specialist, if available. We also recommend that you obtain a copy of the safe withdrawal CD “Help! I Can’t Get Off My Antidepressant! (http://store.drugawareness.org/) by our Executive Director, Ann Blake Tracy, which has the safest methods we have found for withdrawal over the past two decades along with helps on rebuilding to rid yourself of any unpleasant after effects.

View the list of Alternatives suggestions