Posted by Squiggles on August 24, 2007, at 18:35:40 [reposted on August 26, 2007, at 0:05:29 | original URL]
In reply to Re: The Psychiatric Mystique, posted by sam123 on August 24, 2007, at 18:17:57
> > I am hoping that the mental health departments have resources ready to prevent suicide when discontinuing patients from chronic antidepressant medication.
> >
>
> I hope so, too. However, take a look at the withdrawal page. Countless people, despite being told not to stop cold turkey, do just that.
Even with a gradual discontinuation, the onset of an abrupt dive into the abyss, can happen; prodromal signs can and have taken place for months, but without being covered by an antidepressant, it's Russian Roullette. When I first experienced depression it was out of the blue and direct sinking into an altered and dangerous state of consciousness. Does the patient have the presence of mind to even pick up the phone in that state? I didn't. I actually rushed into the road in front of a car to escape the suicidal feeling, but (someone must have guided me) decided to make a righ turn to what then to my great serendipity, was an existing nearby hospital.
poster:Squiggles
thread:778730
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070824/msgs/778732.html