Djp1000

So I was reading in the big red book, and also a lot of other stuff, compulsively of course, and I get the feeling that the book is against medication. Stating that our brains are not missing any parts and that our higher power understands the real causes of mental health diagnoses. I am a little confused because it also states that some forms of abuse come from parents or family members with mental illness. Now, I also feel that when I take medication, I feel out of touch with the feelings that need to be explored in order to recover. At the same time, I have a hard time functioning with all the mental and emotional pain an anguish I experience. The book sometimes talk about letting things fall apart; the life we've created through unhealthy coping/control, in order that things fall together. Now, I also wonder, do I let things fall apart in the hope that things fall into place the way they are intended to, or do I take the medication to help me maintain the life I've built, even though it may not be the life I desire. Very confused. Am I using the medication to handle an acceptable life. Or should I change everything in my life to be happier and have the life my hp intended for me?

Kialua

Welcome. Personally I don't have any experience with meds so can't help much there. Maybe someone else will have some insight. I can understand why the book would be hesitant to advise any medications when there is a fine line to walk between needing meds and being/becoming addicted Do you have a physician that is familiar with ACoA issues that could advise you?

DavidG

Hi DJP,

I did not see any hint of that in the BRB... not really at all.

Mostly in shares I do not discuss meds- that being a personal and medical issue.
But because if my life experience I see meds as a back-up and sometimes as a last resort.

15 months ago I went through a pain management course [which worked!]. And, of course, I used pain killers... ...but at the moment I am med free.

Good to see you... -D.

Reedling

I think I would work the steps in order, and not change anything until you get to steps 10 and 11 and feel confident that you rightly understand your HP's will for you. In this way, you will make better changes.

In recovery we work the steps many times-- we don't have to do them perfectly the first time through. Any feelings you are not in touch with right now, you will get to them next go round-- I believe this is true whether you are recovering with meds or not.

If you let go your meds and are not stable enough to work the steps as a result, it is hard to see how you are in a better position. And if you are ultimately meant to let go your meds, that will become clear in time by working the steps.

NoelleR

Hey Djp ---

I gotta argee with DavidG..............:

"...I did not see any hint of that in the BRB... not really at all..."

In your original post, you wrote...............:

"...I get the feeling that the book is against medication..."

Could you give me some examples of where you're getting this feeling (page numbersor something).........?

Thx,
NoelleR

Mountainmanbob

tromboneliness

I don't think there is anything in the book that says not to take psych meds.

And if it does, that's wrong.

There is (my sponsor, who is also in AA, tells me) a species of "AA 12-step Nazi" who will tell you that taking medication is a crutch, that you should just work the program non-stop until all is well, etc. Well, that attitude may have made sense in 1935, but we know a lot more about the brain than we did back then. And one of the things we know is that the chemistry of mental health is very subtle -- and that a lot of psychological conditions can be helped a great deal with the right meds.

Exhibit A: my Mom. Without meds, she was a total basket-case bipolar nutball who could not function as a human being -- she had to be hospitalized for two years (until my Dad ran out of money to pay for it), after which she had shock treatments, outpatient therapy, and everything else... until they discovered Lithium. On Lithium, she was stable, smart, capable, went to Harvard for a master's degree, held several important jobs, and functioned about as well as anyone I knew. Did a great job raising me and my sister, I might add.

So if anyone tells you psych meds are bad, they're just ignorant. Sure, any drug can be abused -- and all should be taken under the supervision of a doctor who knows what he/she's doing -- but sometimes, you need chemistry to stay sane. That's a fact.

T