You Are The Vanguard

[Barbara]

After a time of decay comes the turning point. The powerful light that has been banished returns. There is movement, but it is not brought about by force….The movement is natural, arising spontaneously. For this reason the transformation of the old becomes easy. The old is discarded and the new is introduced. Both measures accord with the time; therefore no harm results.

Societies of people sharing the same views are formed. But since these groups come together in full public knowledge and are in harmony with the time, all selfish separatist tendencies are excluded, and no mistake is made. The idea of return is based on the course of nature. The movement is cyclic, and the course completes itself. Therefore it is not necessary to hasten anything artificially. Everything comes of itself at the appointed time. This is the meaning of heaven and earth.

I Ching, Hexagram 24, Wilhelm translation


"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead


Vanguard: A group of people leading the way in new developments or ideas. (WordReference.com) The foremost or leading position in a trend or movement. Those occupying a foremost position. (American Heritage)



You are in the vanguard of a political, sociological, medical, and spiritual shift. Just by virtue of being here now, healing from psychotropic medication, participating in the IAWP community, being where you are on your path, you are contributing to a sea change in the world.

Wherever you are on your path, and whatever your individual path will be, just by choosing to question and explore the impact of psychotropic medication on your life, you are already a part of this vanguard and you are already contributing to the world on many levels.

[Sheila]

The Problem

Interestingly, not one of us chose to be in this situation. We elected to take prescription medications for a variety of reasons, but not one of us knew we might have problems – sometimes severe problems – with the meds. Then, at some point, you may have wondered why you felt so bad. You may have felt at war with yourself, unable to make sense of your worsening physical, cognitive, and emotional problems. Not knowing what to attribute them to – your genetics, your family dynamics, aging, current stressors. Then, you may have stumbled across information suggesting that your medication was your problem.

Now, you are somewhere on this path that you didn’t even know existed. You’re either contemplating tapering slowly off your meds, or you took your last med awhile ago, and are coping with your body’s attempts to recover. Or you have decided that you cannot or choose not to get off the meds, because that’s what is best for your life circumstances, and so you are coping with the continuing impact of the meds on your life. Either way, you are on a path of self-discovery that is deepening your understanding, your relationship with yourself, and your relationship with others – loved ones, people in authority, your very society.

By definition, you are in the vanguard -- a pioneer, trailblazer, canary in the mineshaft, in the trenches at the frontlines -- in regard to the issue of discovering that widely prescribed psychotropic medication can be very damaging.

Psychotropic medications are still being prescribed at astronomical rates. The U.S. is being carpet bombed by print and television advertising. Many national health care systems are heavily dependent on Big Pharma and the use of medication to alleviate symptoms without addressing underlying causes. Most doctors prescribing these meds are in denial about their risks. There is minimal research being done on the issue. There are only a handful of health care practitioners and books available as resources.

[Barbara]

An Emerging Community

Yet you are here reading this, and you are part of a groundswell of global citizens who are recognizing the problem, educating themselves, connecting with and supporting others. A new community is emerging, of which you are part.

There are people who are quite sure that the meds are their problem, and who know what they want to do about tapering and about supporting their recovery. There are people who aren’t sure what to think yet, who are taking psych meds and feel confused about why they’re getting sicker and their lives are spiraling down. There are people who are just beginning to catch on and who are looking for mentors to give them courage to face the stages of chaotic renewal.

There is a synergy between experienced withdrawers and newbies. The encounter between the two groups creates a field where creativity can happen. New insights can emerge about the mechanisms of neurological change, about therapies to aid healing, about the political ramifications, and about projects to offer society alternatives to the use of psych meds.

The exchange of information, validation, and support benefits all parties and helps give strength to go forward.

[Sheila]

Zeitgeist v. The Spirit of the Depths

In the early 20th century, the visionary psychiatrist C.G. Jung described two pulls on us human beings – the Zeitgeist or spirit of the times and the Geist der Tiefe or spirit of the depths.

The spirit of the times pulls us into the conventions of our day. It encourages us to fit in and be concerned with what is current, fashionable, convenient for life in our society. The spirit of the depths pulls us into ourselves, and to a primitive, inchoate place where the individual connects with the cosmos. It is concerned with timeless, wild matters. It is not convenient or civilized.

Psychotropic medications are very much a part of the Zeitgeist. They’re so in the Zeitgeist that they are in the water supply. They’re so in the Zeitgeist that the parents of school children are routinely asked to fill out a list of medications being taken. College students borrow meds, take them without supervision, take them recreationally. Many of the people you know are taking a psych med. They’ve become as normalized as aspirin or Vitamin C.

Yet we know that these drugs are deeply flawed and bring a cascade of impacts into people’s lives ranging from unhealthy weight gain and sexual suppression to psychological disintegration and suicide.

Just by being who you are, facing the reality of these drugs, and suffering through your own recovery from them, you are leading the way to a new awareness of what these drugs are about. Just think, not that long ago cigarettes were considered safe. You are seeing more of the truth, and saying your truth, and this is affecting society in obvious ways, such as attitudes towards the health care industry, but also in less obvious ways.

Right at this exact moment, you are helping society open more to the spirit of the depths. Simply by questioning the dominating Zeitgeist, you are contributing to sociological change, to a tipping point. Your life is pushing society to deepen its understanding of the reasons people get on these meds, and the ways people can be helped that are more effective, humane, and soulful than taking these toxic drugs.

Psychotropic medication shuts down feelings, which takes people’s power away, which leaves the powers that be full rein to reign. Getting off the meds gives you your mind back, but the process is sometimes so hard that it does a lot more than that. It leads to an awakening in relation to one’s society and the authorities. There is often a new understanding of how many lives are being affected by these meds on a global basis, and a determination not to let the established economic and political power structure and the Zeitgest continue to have so much unexamined influence.

[Barbara]

Personal Journey of Discovery

The process of extricating these drugs from one’s life and rebuilding one’s physical, psychological, and spiritual health sometimes imposes on people an unsought, relentless, chaotic path of self discovery.

You may find yourself traversing a series of epiphanies, and you may find yourself automatically delivered to the spirit of the depths. You may discover parts of yourself that you haven’t seen since early childhood or have never known. You may find an expansion and elaboration of all your relationships – with yourself, other people, the planet, the cosmos. You may find yourself needing to create a new personal myth and a cosmology that are big enough to honor all the newly discovered depths in yourself and that jettison some of the falsehoods you may have used to define yourself before.

It can be very hard at times. Keep the faith. Keep learning from your fellows on this path. It will come to an end. So much good is going to come to you out of your descent into the depths. You will find yourself bigger and better than you have ever been.

[Sheila]

Onwards!

You are part of an historic movement. You are part of a cutting edge group of people. This awakening to the massive lie about the safety, efficacy and necessity of psychotropic medication has so many ramifications and is so important on a global level. This may be hard to see if you are currently in a part of the recovery process that is grueling.

It will never be this hard again. Because of your suffering, things will change. We are the trailblazers. For people going through this after us, there will be more recognition, more solutions. Your journey is accomplishing more for the good of the whole than you may realize.

Right at this exact moment, YOU are in the vanguard. Now is the turning point.


by Barbara and Sheila