Welcome to The Psych Med Sanctuary

This site is for people harmed by psych medication. It’s not to be completely anti medication and there is no judgement to those who are on medication. There are moments it has its place, however having experienced the harmful side myself, I want to open up the conversation, that surely there’s better ways to treat mental health, or various problems that would lead to a person taking these medication, i.e Insomnia / sleep problems, migraines, acne, nerve pain and many other reasons why a person may end up on this line of treatment.

Through my own experience of being harmed by the medication and finding many others going through the same I have seen the huge gaps in information when it comes to this sort of harm. Currently trusting doctors to give us the right guidelines is challenging. You could go through 30 doctors and never get the right diagnoses, being ‘Benzo withdrawal, Benzo tolerance’, or ‘Antidepressant and Antipsychotic withdrawal’ sadly they all do exist, from a mild to severe degree.

Doctors often blame the patient for their symptoms, as all this is still very much not recognised by medical professionals. Side effects and symptoms are being diagnosed as mental health issues. Doctors ( not all ) are putting people on Benzos as an everyday medication, when it’s meant for short term or crisis, often to then cold turkey people off it, with no taper, or a taper but it’s nowhere near long enough. The need to taper very slow can also be the case for many people who want to come off their Antidepressants or Antipsychotics, again a doctors will tell you things like, ‘just stop taking these or a 2 week taper should be fine’. Basically tapering patients off far too quickly, when they need slow, it can take from months to years for some people to safely come off these medications. 

We are all different that is the important factor in this, I was on the chemically sensitive end of the spectrum, where as some people can tolerate these medications without getting adverse reactions. This is where much confusion and ‘ that’s not possible ‘ can come in. 

Everyone’s story is going to be different, as I say some get off lightly, for example, have no problem doing a rapid taper that many doctors will advise you to do. Some can just stop their medication and have no further problems. However some cannot tolerate it at all and end up severely harmed for months to years of their lives.

The difference in how some people are ok to take these medications and some are not shows that our individual make up is never the same, I liken it to covid, some of us got really affected by the virus and some didn’t at all, I think this tells us our nervous systems are unique. 

Through my experience I have been shown the many suffering and harmed by medication. Before this the word medication would mean very little to me, I had no idea about any of this! For those reading this going through withdrawal, you are not alone. 

People are often polydrugged once in withdrawal from a psych medication i.e – a benzodiazepine, antidepressant or antipsychotic, due to doctors thinking you’re experiencing severe mental health problems and then medicating your ‘craziness’, when it more often that not makes you worse. Once your nervous system is harmed in this way, more medication can be challenging fir your system to take.

I have a very layered and deep overall experience of the challenging side of psych medications. During my time going through the medical system I got given many medications due to the initial harm/withdrawal being seen as a mental health disorder.

I found that doctors/ psychiatrists tended to just want to medicate symptoms. Ironically in my case the symptoms being from the medication itself.

I have shared my story on the podcast recordings and videos here, covering many different topics in this very layered terrifying experience. Offering help and guidance, from all the sources that have helped me get to where I am so far. Do check out the useful info page for links and contacts to help you along your way. I have updated the about me section with my current taper journey and where I am at. 

What I offer – I always knew I would become a therapist or healer of some sort later in life, I have always been interested in how us humans work. And really looking at what can help us cure trauma, an ongoing discovery.

Having had to work through my own traumas prior to medication harm. I worked through them holistically, without medication, due to knowing I was sensitive to most chemicals. However Ironically ended up on a whole bunch of medication for tinnitus, really by trusting the doctor, as many of us do. 

I am currently furthering my counselling training to keep learning and growing on a transpersonal counselling level 4, this is something I plan to develop this in the future. 

I have been on a life long self development journey, and spent much time observing the art of life. Currently working as a coach and have been coaching people through this for the last 3 years, it’s known as a ‘psych med withdrawal coach,’ there are a few cropping up now, as this is really something that people are needing in this world of over medicating mental health. This kind of coaching is not me telling you what to do. It is importantly tailored to what people really need in this scary experience. Which is validation, support and guidance from a grounded place, using my lived experience. I help you gain clarity on where to turn next and how to get through it. And very importantly we go on your individual experience. 

We are all different and each persons history with this is different, there is no one way to do this. Yes there are things to avoid certainly, but we must listen to our body and our individual experience to feel out what is effecting us and how. 

You can find more information on what I offer on the bookings page. 

Much love,

Emma x