So Far by Susan L.

  So good as the rest of the saying goes. My med reduction is working out all right. Hopefully it will continue to go smoothly.
  I was watching one of many murder/mystery shows last night on TV. In it, a young man living with schizophrenia was the culprit. The reason? He had stopped taking his meds and became paranoid and murderous. I get a bit tired of it. Statistics show that more people with a mental health challenge end up being the victims of violence as opposed to the perpetrators of it.
  The fictional police team, as they were profiling the killer, made the comment that the young man had experienced a psychotic break which was causing his violent behaviour. Something else I get tired of. Pretty much every single person on the planet has, or will have, such a thing happen to them. Alcohol fueled blackouts, high fever, insomnia, traumatic events like being in a car accident, Alzheimer's or other brain damage like a stroke can cause our mind to check out for a bit. That's what a psychotic break is. True, these events can change us, and sometimes alter our personalities. Does it mean we would all commit violent crimes? Thankfully, no. Those situations are rare but are unfortunately well publicized when they do happen and only fuel the fires of suspicion.
  Which leads back to the medication issue. Not all people with a mental illness want to be on medication. The side effects can be terrible and ironically can include suicidal ideology. They can be very hard on the liver and kidneys. They often leave a person numb and unable to feel or think. They can cause psychotic breaks if the medication isn't compatible with a person's body chemistry. Even one radical and desperate treatment called electroshock therapy has the power to disconnect us from the present reality, never mind that it erases memories and destroys our ability to create short term memories. But that's another rant. It's scary stuff and doctors have no idea why one medication works for one person yet not for another.
  Personally, I am thankful for them. They keep my chronic anxiety and depression at bay which is part of Post Traumatic Stress. They have helped me as I pursued other paths of wellness such as talk therapy and art therapy. They helped free me so that the Lord could do His work in my heart. In saying that, medications are only one tool in my wellness kit. Without them, I couldn't have discovered other more holistic approaches to maintaining my mental health like walking in the woods and talking to the Lord when I am feeling stressed.
  Will I ever choose to be completely off my medications? At this point I'd say no but who knows what tomorrow will bring. God may choose to heal me completely.
  "For I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly awaits for the revealing of the sons of God." Rom 8:18-19