Do I Need These Medications to Be Okay?

“Do I need these medications to be okay?” is a huge question for so many of us when we go through psychiatric drug withdrawal, when we are medicated and considering going off our meds, or when we are in the middle of a taper.

This question can be a source of doubt, and I actually consider it part of the healing process. I want to talk about what’s true here, and why there is hope. You do not need these medications to be okay.

When your body is craving the drug

Part of what’s going on in withdrawal is that your body is craving the drug. Your brain is trying to figure out, “What is going on? What am I missing, and how do I get it back?”

That craving piece is part of dependency. It’s very normal, and very much part of the healing process. It is not uniquely highlighting that you actually need this to be okay. The anxiety, intensity, and uncertainty can feel like proof, but they are often part of withdrawal itself.

The fear under the fear

You might be wondering:

Will I be okay with my brain and myself after I complete my taper?
When I’m healed from this, is my baseline actually okay?
Will I enjoy life? Will I feel like myself?
Do I need these for life?

A lot of us were told by doctors, psychiatrists, counselors, or well-meaning friends and family that we need these and need to stay on them. There are a lot of common lines that get repeated again and again.

“You have a chemical imbalance”

One line you may have heard is: “You have a chemical imbalance and you need medication to be okay.”

I’ll just say it plainly, the chemical imbalance theory is a myth. As I understand it, there is no real science behind it, and it was promoted in a way that served the pharmaceutical industry so people would take these medications.

Here is what is real: dependency.

Any psychoactive substance used regularly can create dependence. The body adapts. If a pill is changing serotonin (or other systems) in a certain direction, the body adjusts its own production based on what the medication is doing. The body says, “We have too much of this, we don’t need to make this,” and production changes. Then the body becomes dependent on the pill to deliver what it used to regulate on its own.

That is the science of dependency.

The body learns how to produce what it needs to reach homeostasis. That is what the body is designed to do. That is what the body naturally does, and that is where it is headed. If you are wondering, “Can my body figure this out? Can my body produce what I need to enjoy life and feel normal?” Yes. Absolutely. That is what is happening, it just takes time.

“Is anyone in your family anxious or depressed?”

Another one is the hereditary line: “Was anyone in your family ever anxious or depressed?”

Honestly, that’s like asking, “Has anybody in your family ever had a hard time?” That’s like asking, “Are you a human?” Having a hard time, having a low mood, being affected by hard things in your life, that is part of the human experience.

This line often plays into promoting the idea of turning a present challenge into a chronic disorder.

Other lines that keep people trapped

People also hear things like:

You need to stabilize on the drug for a year or more so your brain can recover.
It will be easy to come off, no problem, just stabilize first.
Did you have any episodes like this in the past?
This is the return of your original illness.

Then someone tapers, feels worse, sometimes has new symptoms they never had before, and gets told, “This is the return of your original illness. You must have a chemical imbalance. You must need this for life.”

I’m not trying to slander well-meaning professionals. I know intentions can be good. But these lines get repeated constantly, and they uphold the idea that people need these medications to be okay.

Where these ideas came from: marketing and pathologizing normal life

One question that matters is: what did people do before psychiatric medications? What was life like if people had depression or anxiety?

What I found is that the belief system around “mood disorders,” as an identity and a lifelong medical destiny, came hand in hand with pharmaceutical companies and pill campaigns.

There has been a huge industry push to promote certain pills as the solution, and even to promote specific concepts into the public imagination. This becomes a marketing agenda, not a personal need.

Part of breaking free is breaking free from the lies. You have to name it for what it is, and then break up with that whole concept so you can reclaim your freedom.

This also includes the pathologizing of normal suffering, turning temporary life challenges into “chronic illnesses” that then supposedly require ongoing drugs.

What long-term outcomes suggest

One of the most pivotal things for me was seeing long-term outcome framing in Medicating Normal.

In the example that stuck with me, there was a control group of people with depression, and a medicated group. In the first six weeks, the medicated group improved faster. The unmedicated group had a slower upward climb.

Then, after that, both groups looked about the same for a while.

Then the medicated group had a bumpy downward trajectory, more ongoing mental health challenges. The unmedicated group stabilized and stayed more even.

That was an eyeopener because if you’ve been on these for a long time, part of what locks you into the medication story is looking back and saying, “Look at all the times I was down, I needed an adjustment, I needed to up my meds.”

But those experiences are not proof you have a lifelong chronic illness. They can also be evidence that the medication is not helping you heal at your natural baseline.

What you’re reclaiming in withdrawal

When you are coming off these and working hard through withdrawal, what you’re reclaiming is your right to your natural healing.

Your body can repair, recover, and be resilient through suffering and life challenges. Take heart that your body really can do this. Even when it feels like you can’t, you really can.

Resilience, faith, and the crucible of withdrawal

When you are at the end of your rope, when you feel like you can’t make it another day, you are going to come to grips with your own resilience.

This can be a crucible for transformation.

You can meet God in this. You can receive the love of other people, even if you feel cut off from it. That might look like a withdrawal buddy, a support group, a regular prayer you pray, or moment-to-moment coping.

It can bring you to your knees in suffering. That does not mean you cannot heal and recover. It does not mean you can’t have a life-changing experience even through this, and become a healthier person on the other side, with more joy and more life in you.

Right now, some of these things might feel like ideas you tell yourself. Eventually, you can believe them. You can be in the midst of the storm and think, “I could never be at peace again.” That’s not true. I thought that too. I didn’t know if I could make it second by second at times.

Take heart. You can come through this, and peace can return.