Confession - just need to get it out in the open

Hi @Beachside_girl,

First of all, Welcome to the Forums! It can be really hard and present somewhat of a dilemma when deciding whether to stop taking your medication. Feeling lethargic and putting on weight can definitely demotivate someone from taking medication for their mental health. I am positive that you are not the only one here on the Forums who has had such an experience.

It sounds like stopping medications has presented no issues for you so far - in fact, you are feeling like you have more energy and are getting better rest! I do understand that keeping your choice to stop medication a secret can make you feel that you are not being open and honest with your loved ones. However, I also understand that telling your friends and family about coming off medication can be difficult and sometimes a little bit scary, as your loved ones may have different ideas they vocalise around what is in your best interest. This can be frustrating, since you are not interested in anyone's advice or opinions about your choice to come off medication. Can you identify any specific reasons that may be holding you back from sharing your choice to come off medication with them at this stage? How do you think your friends and family will react if you tell them?

Ultimately, at the end of the day, you know yourself better than anyone else; including, where you are at and what you can cope with at the moment. Thus, although your friends and family may mean well, it is understandable if you chose to listen and follow your own voice in terms of how you want to manage your mental health.

Also, just as a side note, you may be interested in checking out these other related threads: "Stopping Medication"; and our Topic Tuesday event on Medication that occurred in April 2016, here.

Once again, Welcome to the forums! We have a really supportive community here, and I hope that you find reaching out of the forums helpful.

Kindest,

Amour_Et_Psyché

Hiya beachside , my admiration to you for airing your story . As to stopping of your medication , good for you . I too was prescribed anti depressive medication and with a lot of will power regularly adhered to the dosage and times but despite being on it for some 7 months felt no benefits at all , so I stopped ... cold turkey . At next meeting with my psychiatrist , I did mention this . You are the only one who knows if the medication is working , you are the only one who knows how much pain you are dealing with and you are the only one who knows how you are feeling. There is need to feel guilty if you stop nor need to be deceitful about it . I only average about 5-6 hours sleep a night but is a deep sleep , am active during the day , no nanna naps and functioning ok. I*m no doctor , and I know 8 hours sleep is touted as being the amount of sleep required but I*m doing ok , so I don*t see why you should be worried . If your up and about and all your worried about is the not telling of not taking medication then your not depressed , your just got a troubled conscience .