Re: Switching lists for now

[Guest guest]

Melody: Sorry to see you leave the list. I think it's important for you to keep in mind that you ARE in withdrawal, and will be for a long time considering that you still have 100# mgs of Seroquel to go, not to mention that you are still recovering from Depakote and Lithium withdrawal. Pardon me for being so blunt, but your husband appears to be rather manipulative in trying to get you back on mood stabilizers, it seems, more for HIS comfort than for your overall well being. Personally, I'd never stand for this kind of coercion, and I hope you don't fall victim to it, but he seems as if he can be rather convincing. Remember it's YOUR body and mind.

Blind Reason

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[Guest guest]

Dear Melody,

You said:

<<I just wanted to let you know why I'm thinking of unsubbing again for

awhile and just using the SocialWand list.

I'm trying to sort out which of my problems are coming from the

(slow) withdrawal from Seroquel and which are from other sources. For

instance, I'm currently having a *very* bad time of it when my

husband goes to work in the daytime and this just only started

recently. I mean, I'm *really* wigging out to the point where he has

started to demand that I go back on mood-stabilizers. >>

** Mantra #1 - If it didn't exist prior to discontinuing one or more

psychotropic drugs you can 99.9% be assured it's the aftermath of the

drug(s). The recovery period is much longer than you might imagine.

Mantra #2 (specificallt tailored for you) - " I do not need people to run

my life. I am a strong, intelligent, capable woman with the resources and

ability to understand the nuances of what is happening in my life and deal

appropriately with them. "

IMO, you need to be on the W & R list. Your problem is not wigging out.

Your problem is that the withdrawal and recovery process is causing you to

become very uncomfortable when your husband goes to work. This is what the

list can address.

Plus, there's a red herring in there. The red herring is your husband

" demanding " you go back on mood-stabilisers. This would get most people

up-in-arms and the focus would become the lack of patience and understanding

your husband exhibits. It gets you focused on that, as well, and the actual

root problem of how to decrease and manage what you are experiencing never

gets addressed.

You said:

<<This may just be cabin fever in the winter. But I'm having a real bad

lack of energy and most days I can't even force myself to leave the

house. I " m losing weight pretty fast without trying; I have hardly

any appetite. I can't tell if this is from sadnesses and new deep

feelings due to the withdrawal or from something actually physical.>>

** The physical part is that your body is not compromised by a whole

bunch of drugs that compromise your hormonal system so you gain weight.

It's also from eating very little.

Melody, you've gone so quickly from how many drugs to just Seroquel

(psych drugs)? Of course you are fatigued. This is a normal course of the

recovery. Give it time. And give it nutrients.

You said:

<<Right now I need a lot of social support, all I can get. And I feel

it would be better for the new members to get their withdrawal advice

here instead of the reams of posts I've been posting about my

personal challenges.>>

** Many of your " personal challenges " stem from where you are in the

withdrawal and recovery process and are relevant to the W & R list.

You said:

<<So, see you all friends on the other list for now. When I'm ready to

once again tackle the withdrawal issue (after I've sorted everything

out in that area), I'll come back..>>

** I think it's great to utilize the Social list. But I'm concerned that

focusing too much on the mundane day-to-day personal challenges will drag

you down more.

So much of what you are experiencing results from tthe ravages of the

drugs. I'd hate to see you treat this as a social problem.

I think both lists can be successfully utilized. Nobody's head is going

to get bitten off for posting to the wrong list. There's a big gray space

there where appropriateness and inappropriateness is unclear. I'd see

relaxed guidelines on this rather than stringent.

Regards,

[Guest guest]

This is an excellent post! I'd like to add that taking the focus from the

details of what is making you feel overwhelmed, hopeless or stressed and

putting the focus more on your REACTION to the stressors or crisis will help

you get through it.

In other words, stop trying to solve what you perceive as the problem, and

instead, work on your reaction to the problem. Does this make sense?

Regards,

said:

<<Melody,

Of course you have to do what you feel is right.

Under the " Withdrawal Fog you may not really be able

to make the proper decision, it seems. Your personal

problems are not just your problems, they are problems

that many share.

That is all I am capable of addressing since I too am

going through a withdrawal and don't have much

information except what I fortunately found in this

site.

I can address the winter lack of movement, in general.

We all can experience a little snowbound binging. It

seems to me that you are only focusing on your

symptoms and how others relate to you. I think the

mistake is focusing on your symptoms or problems. Try

to take a window of time to write down something -

anything that you like. A list of positives. Do this

as soon as possible. See what you get. The list can

be comprised of reading, eating, getting mail, driving

around, anything.

When you have this list try to read it often and

analyze it, not that the things aren't good enough but

analyze how you can do more of those things. Take

some active measures. Yes, if you like to read

certain books or magazines - go to the library, stop

by a book store.

I think it is necessary to realize your symptoms on a

daily basis, (that is what is helping me) but to try

to focus on what I actually want to do that is good

for me.

This may be the first time I have actually been able

to focus on things that I enjoy doing. I am learning

a lot of things right now. This is the first time in

my life that I have done this. I am starting to feel

more well rounded, an area I have never felt before.

I always feel under educated and etc., so instead of

feeling bad about it I am actually doing something

about it.

This is one example that I hope helps you. What ever

you do, always try to take some time to do what you

want and making a list of what you like can help you

do what you want. The list will change so make one

often and take an active role.

Another example is the woman who painted the house she

didn't know if she could initially but she showed that

she could.

Same thing - she focused on doing it not the negative.

Best wishes

sj>>

[Guest guest]

Dear Glitter,

I forwarded your post to Melody who is currently on the Social off-topic

list I created yesterday.

Regards,

Glitter said:

<<Melody: Sorry to see you leave the list. I think it's important for you

to keep in mind that you ARE in withdrawal, and will be for a long time

considering that you still have 100# mgs of Seroquel to go, not to mention

that you are still recovering from Depakote and Lithium withdrawal. Pardon

me for being so blunt, but your husband appears to be rather manipulative

in trying to get you back on mood stabilizers, it seems, more for HIS

comfort than for your overall well being. Personally, I'd never stand for

this kind of coercion, and I hope you don't fall victim to it, but he seems

as if he can be rather convincing. Remember it's YOUR body and mind. >>