It's okay!
Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 1:04 am
One of the things I realized a little earlier in the program was that, for me, expecting to get off my antidepressant and ADD meds was not a realistic expectation. Only you and a (real) doctor can determine if this is true for you, but with my traumatic brain injury, it's not realistic to expect that.
So that's the first thing. Here's the second: needing the medical help is NOT a moral failing! Is a diabetic an addict because without insulin he passes out & goes into a coma? No, he's a diabetic. Needing insulin to live is part of the package. Just as, since I was repeatedly bonked on the head throughout my childhood, then had a slip-and-fall as an adult, having wonky brain function is part of that package. (I know, such a deal, right?)
I understand Lucinda's feeling that certain meds should not be long-term, and I agree. I think the difference is whether you expect the little happy pills to fix everything--they don't. They just enable you to function well enough to work on your issues. Sometimes that's temporary, and sometimes that's permanent. It depends on your situation. So I guess I'm saying is, don't wig out and assume you're an addict because you need the medication, and therefore there's something WRONG with you (which is what I did at first). Like I said, it's not a moral failing.
Sorry to be so long-winded. Almost done. Just wanted to add that just as important as taking them--or not taking them--properly and under supervision, is doing a lot of this:
Have a great one, gang!
So that's the first thing. Here's the second: needing the medical help is NOT a moral failing! Is a diabetic an addict because without insulin he passes out & goes into a coma? No, he's a diabetic. Needing insulin to live is part of the package. Just as, since I was repeatedly bonked on the head throughout my childhood, then had a slip-and-fall as an adult, having wonky brain function is part of that package. (I know, such a deal, right?)
I understand Lucinda's feeling that certain meds should not be long-term, and I agree. I think the difference is whether you expect the little happy pills to fix everything--they don't. They just enable you to function well enough to work on your issues. Sometimes that's temporary, and sometimes that's permanent. It depends on your situation. So I guess I'm saying is, don't wig out and assume you're an addict because you need the medication, and therefore there's something WRONG with you (which is what I did at first). Like I said, it's not a moral failing.
Sorry to be so long-winded. Almost done. Just wanted to add that just as important as taking them--or not taking them--properly and under supervision, is doing a lot of this:
Have a great one, gang!
