As I am reading the program I realize that although I have felt the symptoms of anxiety and depression before, my medication has dulled the emotional pain. I am wondering if I am getting the most out of the program if I am taking medication that limits my symptoms. Should I be practicing these exercises when medicated?

There are people here who are on meds and some that aren't. It really is a personal decision with no set rules as to which is a better way. Anti-depressants dulled the heck out of me in general and left me feeling like an emotional zombie. I decided not to take them anymore and I've done great with the program without them. This is just my story though, and I would never recommend anyone to stop their meds if they felt they were needed. Go with what you feel is right for you.

Please, PLEASE, PLEASE do not simply stop all meds at once and cold turkey. Your body and MIND simply cannot handle this. This is not a matter of simple determination. Speaking personally, this is a recipe for disaster and ultimately led me to a nervous breakdown in Oct '07 (and this was simply a reduction and not elimination of ativan).

I don't know what meds you're on or for how long, but very quickly I can tell you my success. I began this program in Jan. and was on ambien cr, zoloft, and klono. By the end of April I was no longer taking ambien cr, in the beginning of August I tapered completely off zoloft, and in about 6 weeks I begin a taper schedule for klono.

Here's the thing, your body can only metabolize so much at once; so whether you go off one drug suddenly or many at the same time, the likelihood of staying off these meds permanently reduces significantly. If the program is working well for you (as it has for me), look into a gradual reduction- chapter 18 @ www.theroadback.org has very reasonable schedules. You can also ask you pharmacist.

It's also helpful to become informed of the benefits of vitamins/herbs/nutritional supplements, as these scripts can deplete your body of essential nutrients and some herb/vitamins can take the place of prescription drugs once your body starts to stablize (sp?).

I know I sound REALLY pushy and probably obnoxious, but I truly just don't want ANYONE to have to go through what I endured.
Respectfully,
Emily

Call your doctor and tell him your ideas.....just as you have here....if he/she says its ok and thats your desire then give it a go. But never stop medication without your doctors approval.

Never be afraid to talk to your doctor and take and active role in your treatment plan and health.

I do not take medication and I am very pleased with the program and the results of it.

Dodger

I can totally relate to your feelings. I wasn't sure I would get what I needed from the program while medicated. I weaned off of Cymbalta, however, as the others stated above you should never wean off medication without consulting your MD. I have weaned a few other times only to have to go back on meds a few months later. Best of luck to you and remember you are success in the making.
Love, Light and Many Blessings to you...

I take medication myself. I've taken a very high dosage of anti depressant which now I"ve dropped down to about 2/3 of what I was taking. I don't know what you take, but I understand that you should never just stop, because that can be a big shock to your body. I cut back 50 mg every like 2-3 weeks. I know what you mean too about that idea of whether you should be feeling more symptoms while you're doing this, but I don't think it's the case. Obviously the kind of problems we deal with have a lot of ups and downs. I deal with anxiety, depression, ocd..but I think that thinking like that, that maybe you should be more symptomatic while doing this, is probably not the right way to think..because it plays into that same distortion of feeling like you have to hit "rock bottom" before you can really get better. It's a distortion, it's irrational, it's not true. I think the way the program works will help us to learn how to overcome these things even if we;re not necassarily dealing with them right at the moment. We'll put the skills in place now and hopefully because of the knowledge and enlightenment that we gain, we won't get to some of those deep dark spots anymore, we won't let it get that far, we'll kill the lion when it's a little cub instead of trying to kill it once it's grown into a full grown monster. Plus I don't know about you, but I don't know if I'd even be able to do any of this when I was at my worst point. Having said that..it's a 15 week program so there will probably be more ups and downs to come. But I wouldn't let yourself hold back because you're not sure you're gonna get the best results or you think you might want to stop the medication. In my opinion I would say if you want to bring down your dosage talk toyour doctor and let him know what you're feeling, but don't just do it because you think you might get more out of this if you were more symptomatic. I've let distortions like that hold me back before too. "Well..I don't feel good, it doesn't feel right.. I want to feel a little better before I start it.. and then feeling a little better and not really feeling that focussed on it and wondering well I kinda feel a little better now.." and then it doesn't get started. I would just dismiss those thoughts and commit to the program and just go through it and follow it and don't let distortions hold you down. don't get tricked by a thought. Good Luck to you.