I'll bite. I took meds and stayed on them for almost a decade but I was convinced I needed to, and a lot of that time I did need them. I was having so many problems with psychosis and mania, depression yup. And I did not have a stable point that lasted more than a few weeks. Multiple times I avoided the hospital at my Pdoc's request for mania, and I was hospitalized for mania in the end. The thing is, no matter how many meds, or what combination, nothing seemed to work for me. And that got frustrating after the first few years, never mind a decade of it. So I was getting all the nasty side effects, but i was not reaping any real rewards for it either.

But in that time I had found PC and I was introduced to new ideas, strategies, and most of all hope. I saw some people here doing it without meds, and of course I always wanted that too, I just never thought it was possible. So I slowly made a plan, worked on building skills, and changing my lifestyle and perspective, and I slowly dropped the meds one by one. I finally got off all six of them, and so far so good. And I had a great deal of support for the people here, without that I probably wouldn't have succeeded.

I have my memory back, my brain back, basically I have my life back. I go back to work this fall, a first in 7 years. I can't even believe it. For me it took no meds, and a lot of work to maintain it. But this has been the most stable time for me in my whole life. I don't think this however is what everyone needs. It is what I needed. I can completely understand taking meds as I have been on both sides.

I had gone off my meds at least over 20 times in the past, and each time did end in complete disaster, I was not prepared, and I wasn't ready. When I dropeed the meds this time I was pretty scarred that I would fail, but I trusted all the new tools I had and I trusted myself to make sure I had safety nets.


I can't answer for Cocoabeans obviously, this is just my take on it.