Personal Narrative-Psychopharmacological Interventions In My Life

I have struggled with OCD, panic attacks, depression and addictive tendencies most of my life. I know from extensive personal experience that my ability to function is due in part to psychopharmacological interventions, the efforts of an exceptional psychiatrist, and abject stubbornness. Through trial and error, the majority of my immediate family members have also found this to be true in their lives. Along with dark brown eyes, undefined cheekbones, and weak ankles, mental health issues and addictive patterns of behavior are simply part of our genetic package.
My first impression of drugs and the people who prescribed them was made at age five when my grandmother was diagnosed with stomach cancer. In the early 80’s oncology was still one of the cruder branches of medicine and the hospice movement had not yet successfully merged its goal of quality end-of-life care with effective pain management. As a result of these conditions, I witnessed an extraordinary woman
Had she not communicated these beliefs in both thought and action, I sincerely doubt that anyone in my family would have sought help for depression or anxiety, especially myself. When it came to the need for medication in my life, one episode brought greater clarity than any other. Shortly after my mother’s death, I began to question the medical field as a whole, dislike doctors generally, and in doing so made the decision to discontinue any and all prescribed drug use. As a result of this philosophical shift, in under a year, I weighed less than eighty pounds and had stopped leaving the house. I would like to say that whatever evidence for taking my medication had presented itself in a clear and concise manner, but then again, I did say I was stubborn. It would take me over nine years to return to a point of physical and emotional well-being. Lesson