There is international concern about over-prescribing of psychiatric drugs for all communities, and many doctors and practitioners are starting to rethink their value.  What else can be done?

 Here locally, Making Waves Nottingham, a group led by people with lived experience of mental distress, has started to run sessions in partnership with Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust to support people ready to think about reducing or withdrawing from their medication. Please see attachment copdpublicity long for some personal stories.

 Next Tuesday, October 8th, as a part of Mental Health Awareness Week, Making Waves and Nottinghamshire Healthcare are hosting a film fact and chat event from 6-8pm at ‘Life At The Centre' next to WILKO's on Parliament Street.  All welcome!

‘Cure Contain or Control' prescribing has routinely been first line of treatment for people diagnosed with symptoms relating to mental or emotional distress. This happens within GP surgeries and within specialist psychiatric services. Other factors, such as underlying life traumas, marginalisation, poverty and oppression are less easy to address.  Sometimes it's just easy to give a pill!

Additionally, people and cultures outside of white mainstream, especially those viewed as ‘different,' stand a much higher risk of being diagnosed with mental illness, even though the incidence of mental distress-related illness and psychosis is much the same.

So, there is an epidemic of over-prescribing which affects everyone, some more than others, and which, in addition to being unnecessary, has produced some very damaging side effects.  And while, psychiatric medication does bring relief, particularly in the short-term, for some individuals and some conditions, its long-term benefits, outside of the pharmaceutics industry, are currently being called into question.

There is international concern about over-prescribing of psychiatric drugs for all communities, and many doctors and practitioners are starting to rethink their value.  What else can be done?

Here locally, Making Waves Nottingham, a group led by people with lived experience of mental distress, has started to run sessions in partnership with Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust to support people ready to think about reducing or withdrawing from their medication. Please read the personal stories below.

Next Tuesday, October 8th, as a part of Mental Health Awareness Week, Making Waves and Nottinghamshire Healthcare are hosting a film fact and chat event from 6-8pm at ‘Life At The Centre' next to WILKO's on Parliament Street.  All welcome! This will be a safe place to learn more, share thoughts hopes and concerns, and meet people who have ‘been there.

Moving Away From 'Mental Medication'
 
'Feel like zombie most of the time' - 'Sex drive gone right off' - 'The drugs have put on too much weight' - 'Feels like I'm living in a fog'  - 'Brain on screen-saver' - 'My spirit gone left me' - 'So so sleepy - no will power' - ' I'll be on these the rest of my life - '

Have you ever thought that your medication was doing you more harm than good? It can be a real problem maintaining well-being when dealing with prescribed drug side effects. Although psychiatric medication is important for some of us, and keeps us well, this is not the case for everybody!
In line with recent international concerns around over-prescribing of psychiatric drugs for people living with spiritual, emotional or mind distress, the health focus is now switching to support a gradual withdrawal for those of us ready to leave the pills behind. And it CAN be done, as Arveleena tells us:

"Personally I have had a very difficult relationship with psychiatric drugs. Over the past ten years I have been on/off/on/off/on a wide variety of anti-depressants, anti-psychotics and mood stabilisers. I have struggled with side effects such a weight gain, hair loss, sleepiness and felt completely separate and distanced from my emotions and self.
9 months ago I came to a point in my life, where I wanted to and felt ready to stop taking medication and made the decision with the support of my family and psychiatrist to slowly withdraw from my medication. I have struggled with the effects of the withdrawal, the emotions and the physical effects and it has been a challenging journey. All going well, I am hoping to be medication-free, by November 2013.
At many times in my life I have been forced to take medication. Now I am choosing how and when I come off medication."

"I've taken psychiatric medication for over 5 years - and it has been a troubling relationship. I don't take a stance that all medication is bad, but the way it was presented to me was naive and inappropriate. On presenting myself to services I was told Olanzapine would 'get to the root of my problems'. This sounded great! 5 years later, 11 other medications on, I still take it.......!
What I wasn't told was that it is a powerful mind altering drug, which would likely present problems with withdrawal if I stopped taking it. I feel I was misled.
I did a course at Making Waves last year on reducing and coming off medication, which has helped me lower one of the substances I take. Most importantly it helped me model and discuss my relationship to medication, which I feel, admittedly out of desperation, had become unthinking.
I feel medication does have a limited role, but that its power for good had been vastly exaggerated, and its potential for harm greatly underplayed. This needs to be addressed across medical services, from GPs consulting rooms to the locked wards of psychiatric hospitals - urgently. "

If you - or someone you care about in your family or your community - want to talk about the effects of psychiatric medication and some practical ways to reduce what is perhaps unnecessary and unhelpful then come along and find out more on Tuesday October 8th at 'Life At The Centre' on Parliament Street (opp Argos)  6 - 8pm.
More info from:
Making Waves  Nottingham: website www.makingwaves.org   e-mail    info@makingwaves.org         tel: 01159505996
Names of contributors have been changed. People available for further comment, but prefer anonymity to be maintained.

Further information from:
Julie Gosling - julie@makingwaves.org
Making Waves Training and Education