Here's a dispatch from one of the TWS faithful, Kent R. I really appreciate your all sharing your experiences. Keep 'em coming!

It's been so long since I've taken any psychiatric drugs I can hardly remember what it's like, but I thought I'd offer my opinion anyway (since I sometimes get the impression that not everyone realizes it's possible to be on these drugs at one time but not forever).

One of my last crises that seemed to be alleviated by these drugs happened in Philadelphia, actually. It was during the Bicentennial celebration. I had come down from Boston by bus with a group to protest something. My first feeling of panic came shortly we arrived, when I found out the group might not have enough food for everyone to eat that evening. I think I eventually got a bowl of something, and things seemed a little bit better for a while. Then we drove to some church to bed down for the night. We had to sleep on the floor of the church, and it was so crowded that practically every inch of floor space was covered by people laying on it (but at least it was carpeted).

Since I had felt all right before leaving Boston, I had left my medication at home. But all this crowding and uncertainty caused me to have something like a panic attack, so the next morning I found a trolley station and took the train downtown looking for a hospital. When I got there I found a very large one (I think it was Hahnemann Hospital), and I presented my Medicaid card at the desk in the emergency room and told them what I was experiencing. I spent several hours there over the course of the next two days waiting. Eventually they were able to supply me with a small bottle of some drug - I'm not sure if it was the drug I had been taking (Stelazine), or just something similar - but I definitely felt better after taking some of it. Another thing that helped me feel a little better was that the hospital had a very beautiful chapel just down the hall from the emergency room, and some of the time I was waiting I spent there.

Within two or three years of that experience, though, I completely stopped taking psychiatric drugs. First I tapered them off, then I just stopped them completely. I believe that one of the reasons I was able to do this was that during most of that time I had a relatively stable and secure housing environment. Even though I lived in an inexpensive neighborhood, it was well-maintained and interesting (on the cheap side of Beacon Hill).

It's been over 25 years now since I've taken any kind of psychiatric drug. It hasn't been great, but I've had a few accomplishments. I put myself through college, using mostly a combination of grants and scholarships, and got a B.A. (in Communications, unfortunately). I've had a lot of different jobs, most of them short-term, but I haven't been living on the street as is often expected of crazy people who aren't taking medications. For a few years I worked at the post office, before I couldn't stand it anymore and had to quit (but a lot of people can't stand the post office).

So it's possible to take psychiatric drugs for a few months or years without having to always take them. Perhaps the quality of life isn't necessarily all that great without them - but I think it's probably not that great with them, either. I might've developed something like tardive dyskinesia by now if I hadn't stopped. I think environmental factors can make a big difference in whether or not someone has to be dependent on these drugs, and in some cases money spent on providing decent housing and a secure environment can be much more cost-effective than money spent on drugs.

[Image of the Bicentennial quarter.]