This post originally appeared on Pills to Paleo, my former website.
I was listening to the Born Primal podcast today, and the host mentioned her concern about “medication shaming” in paleo and natural health circles. Essentially, medication shaming is the when someone spreads the notion that all medications are bad, everyone should get off of them, and you can’t enjoy true health unless you don’t take any. Some people do this overtly, and some people do it in more subtle ways.
Anyway, the podcast really got me thinking: do people see my blog and my story as medication shaming?
I’ve addressed this before, but I want to clear the air more thoroughly. While no one has called me out as a “medication shamer,” I have reason to think that some people might feel that way. I’ve received several emails that start with something like, “Don’t judge me, but I’m on two different antidepressants right now.”
Here’s the thing: whether you’re on meds, off meds, you don’t know how you feel about them, or you’re fervently against them … none of that really matters to me. I want to be here to support people in their journeys toward health, regardless of how far they’ve come or how far they have to go.
“Journey” does not imply that to be healthy, you’ll eventually go off meds. It might mean that, but it might not. Your journey is uniquely yours, and yours alone. (I swear I did not steal that line from a Chicken Soup book.)
Journeys are freaking hard. When you decide you want to improve yourself or overcome something, you’ll come up against resistance — both from that crappy little voice in your head and crappy little people who have opinions about what you’re doing.
Personally, I had a very negative experience with psych meds (both SSRIs and mood stabilizers), and I came to the realization that they were terrible for my body and mind. I knew that in order to reclaim my health, I had to get off of them. That isn’t the case for everyone, but it is the case for many people. Just spend a few minutes on any psych drug forum, and you’ll find horror stories left and right.
I am passionate about providing resources for people who are in the same place I was. I strongly believe that if you want to get off medications, you should have the guidance and the support to make smart choices (e.g., tapering slowly, supporting yourself nutritionally, etc.).
There’s an opposite side to medication shaming, too — many people think that if you have to go on psych meds at any point in your life, you should stay on them “to be safe,” and going off them is reckless behavior. That isn’t cool, either.
Focus on improving yourself and ignore the noise. Do what feels right and healthy for you. If meds are a part of that picture and you’re having a good experience with them, don’t feel shame about that. Mental health is so personal, private, and existential. No one can experience what it’s like to be in your brain, and no one should judge.
Love and support to all of you, no matter where you’re at.
Holly