When we have the conversation about weaning vs cold turkey, the issue of stress arises often. We know that cold turkey is usually more difficult-- the symptoms are more acute, more overt, and therefore likely more stressful.
Does stress affect the quality of the recovery from antidepressants? Is the brain healthier at the end of withdrawal if it endures less stress throughout the ordeal? I have selected a few articles that may help answer those questions.
http://www.psycholog...nd-connectivity
http://www.psycholog...blic-enemy-no-1
http://psychcentral....-mental-health/
http://health.howstu...n-the-brain.htm
If your leg is injured in an accident, you would seek the best recovery plan possible, to ensure that it heals properly. You would want to ensure that you are given the best opportunity to retrieve the maximum function in your leg. You wouldn’t choose to rush it.
We ought to give the injured/altered brain the same consideration when it comes to healing it following antidepressant use. The first thing we need to acknowledge is the fact that antidepressants alter the brain-- they physically change it. The symptoms we feel during discontinuation is a byproduct of the brain’s scrambling attempt at self-repair.
Your mind is all you are, all you ever were, and all you will ever be-- it’s all you have to offer to someone you love, and it’s all there is to love about any other human being.
If there is even a slim chance that reducing stress will aid in healing the mind, we have to go that route. We must put healing the brain on at least the same level as healing the leg.