*Paperback also releases July 22 – only the eBook is available for pre-order*
Many people discover that after prolonged use of psychiatric drugs, when they try to stop, their bodies simply won’t allow them. Withdrawal symptoms can be intense and confusing, often mistaken for a relapse or taken as proof that they still need the medication.
What’s a relapse? What’s withdrawal? What’s you – and what’s the drug? And maybe most importantly, how do you manage life without meds?
This book offers a clear, compassionate road map in three Part One – Drugs and Diagnoses explores how psychiatric drugs work (and don’t work), and introduces a trauma-informed, psychosocial approach to understanding mental health problems and emotional distress – beyond diagnostic labels.
Part Two – The Slow Taper gives you step-by-step methods for a careful, gradual taper to ease withdrawal symptoms from psychiatric drugs, including antidepressants, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, stimulants, and mood stabilizers. You’ll learn how to recognize and manage withdrawal symptoms, tell the difference between withdrawal and relapse, and work through the psychological dependence that sometimes develops with long-term use of medication. There’s also guidance on how to talk about withdrawal with family and friends, whose support can make all the difference.
Part Three – Life Beyond Medication offers practical alternatives to psychiatric drugs, with psychological techniques and exercises to help you navigate emotional pain, overcome trauma reactions, and break free from patterns of overthinking like worry, rumination, and self-criticism.
Written by Danish Clinical Psychologist Anders Sørensen, who also holds a PhD in psychiatry, this book combines the most up-to-date scientific evidence with over a decade of clinical experience helping people successfully withdraw from psychiatric drugs and reclaim agency over their lives.