Thanks @SarahMc & @Some0n3 🙏🙏

Guys I was thinking - how much of this is a mind body syndrome ?

13 minutes ago, SpiroC said:

Guys I was thinking - how much of this is a mind body syndrome ?

In short. None of it.

@Chippy - I get what you’re saying but if we keep hyper focusing on our symptoms and the meds and the taper , aren’t we just mentally reinforcing the loop ?

https://www.powersbenzocoaching.com/science-of-healing/the-science-of-false-fear-in-withdrawal-

17 hours ago, SpiroC said:

@Chippy - I get what you’re saying but if we keep hyper focusing on our symptoms and the meds and the taper , aren’t we just mentally reinforcing the loop ?

It is possible to add second fear into the mix for sure, but acceptance and a general good attitude and mindset can help avoid this. WD is very powerful and there are lots out there that will tell you, you are keeping yourself stuck in this. That is all absolute nonsense, it's just another example of humans trying exert control over their lifes. This is a mirage, we have very little control, acceptance teaches us this. The body is smarter than us, good diet, good mind set, no psyco active substances, lots of time, slow careful tapering, these are the keys. You can't think your way out of WD, going down that rabbit hole is very dangerour imo.

@SpiroC all of that is "fear" focused.

I couldn't feel fear at all for a long time, and was still having episodes where I couldn't walk and talk properly at 18 months off.

If you have anxiety, sure, it's possible to feed it and make it worse.

I reject outright that any of my symptoms were simply my own fear, and this is very much also the case for many others.

Hey @SpiroC how are you doing? Any noticeable improvements since you’ve been holding?

6 hours ago, SarahMc said:

Hey @SpiroC how are you doing? Any noticeable improvements since you’ve been holding?

Hey Sara, still very not really sure to be very honest … How are things going on your side ?

53 minutes ago, SpiroC said:

How are things going on your side ?

Depends a lot on which day you ask me 😅 The past couple days I feel like I’m back to square one. But the week before last I had my longest and best dirty window yet. I felt probably 60% or more recovered for 5-6 days. So I’m trying to stay positive.

57 minutes ago, SpiroC said:

still very not really sure to be very honest

Sorry to hear this. Have you noticed any change in your symptoms? Any windows? You’re in my thoughts a lot, especially since we’re on very similar timelines 💜

@Chippy beginning to ask myself if stabilization is even possible ? I’ve had to leave work and moved into my moms house because I’ve just felt so flippin terrible

11 hours ago, SpiroC said:

@Chippy beginning to ask myself if stabilization is even possible ? I’ve had to leave work and moved into my moms house because I’ve just felt so flippin terrible

I am so sorry to read. It is certainly possible. Unfortunately it can take a long time. How is everything else? Clean of alcohol, other drugs and substances? Hows the diet? Nice and clean too? Plenty or fluids and some light evercise? Caffine intake? General stress levels?

1 hour ago, Chippy said:

I am so sorry to read. It is certainly possible. Unfortunately it can take a long time. How is everything else? Clean of alcohol, other drugs and substances? Hows the diet? Nice and clean too? Plenty or fluids and some light evercise? Caffine intake? General stress levels?

Hey Chippy,

How long is a long hold - 2 years ?

Yes no alcohol, no cannabis..

Diet is fairly ok - just switched to gluten free and no sugar.

Have not been exercising because I read on the forums it’s bad for you. No caffeine / only decaf.

Stress levels are high because of what I’m going through. Keep on watching videos about me having brain damage! :( that protracted withdrawal can last for 10 years and that honestly makes me hopeless.

Worried about being on seroquel - wondering if I should change to Mirtazapine to help with sleep. All these things running through my mind.

1 hour ago, SpiroC said:

How long is a long hold - 2 years ?

It’s like a piece of string but more than a few weeks.

1 hour ago, SpiroC said:

Diet is fairly ok - just switched to gluten free and no sugar.

Great

1 hour ago, SpiroC said:

Have not been exercising because I read on the forums it’s bad for you. No caffeine / only decaf

Exercise is good for you if your not exercise intolerant. It’s important to do what you can. A walk is perfect.

1 hour ago, SpiroC said:

Stress levels are high because of what I’m going through. Keep on watching videos about me having brain damage! :( that protracted withdrawal can last for 10 years and that honestly makes me hopeless.

I understand. This is where we must learn some coping skills. Mindfulness, acceptance taking on day at a time. I’d spend my time researching this than looking at content which offers only doom. No one knows the future. Main thing is past is the past. The future is not important. There is only today.

1 hour ago, SpiroC said:

Worried about being on seroquel - wondering if I should change to Mirtazapine to help with sleep. All these things running through my mind.

You should definitely not switch drugs. And certainly not to Mirtazapine. But no switching. Will make everything worse for you.

Hang in there @SpiroC its going to be ok. Just have faith and do that research and practice acceptance and coping skills. Quite a bit to read on here about it.

Really sorry to hear you’re still feeling so awful @SpiroC. I think stabilization can take a long time for some, especially after so many destabilizing events, but you can get there. Please don’t change your meds!! And stay away from the horror stories. Everyone is unique, we can’t know what tomorrow, or next month, or next year will bring for any of us. All we really know is that the vast majority of us will heal in time. Just one foot in front of the other until then 💜.

2 hours ago, SarahMc said:

Really sorry to hear you’re still feeling so awful @SpiroC. I think stabilization can take a long time for some, especially after so many destabilizing events, but you can get there. Please don’t change your meds!! And stay away from the horror stories. Everyone is unique, we can’t know what tomorrow, or next month, or next year will bring for any of us. All we really know is that the vast majority of us will heal in time. Just one foot in front of the other until then 💜.

Thanks Sarah - I appreciate it!

@SarahMc - How have you been ?

45 minutes ago, SpiroC said:

@SarahMc - How have you been ?

Thanks for asking! I’m doing a bit better, I think I’m very slowly stabilizing. I had a window in mid-June, then a wave that felt like I was right back to square one, but now I seem to have found a new, slightly better baseline. Daily symptoms around like a 5 or 6/10 instead of like 8/10 like they were a couple months ago. I’m still planning to hold until at least the beginning of Oct, or longer if I don’t feel ready to taper by then.

35 minutes ago, SarahMc said:

Thanks for asking! I’m doing a bit better, I think I’m very slowly stabilizing. I had a window in mid-June, then a wave that felt like I was right back to square one, but now I seem to have found a new, slightly better baseline. Daily symptoms around like a 5 or 6/10 instead of like 8/10 like they were a couple months ago. I’m still planning to hold until at least the beginning of Oct, or longer if I don’t feel ready to taper by then.

So happy to hear that Sarah! I’ve seen how much you support everyone on this site and you deserve your hard earned gains ! Really happy for you 🙌🙏

2 hours ago, SpiroC said:

So happy to hear that Sarah! I’ve seen how much you support everyone on this site and you deserve your hard earned gains ! Really happy for you 🙌🙏

Thanks!! Though of course no one should have to go through this and everyone on here deserves to feel better. I hope you get a nice window soon 💜.

It seems if you’ve been kindled you’re not going to be ok for a very long time. Am I correct in saying that?

10 hours ago, SpiroC said:

It seems if you’ve been kindled you’re not going to be ok for a very long time. Am I correct in saying that?

No, it would not be correct to say that. The correct thing to say is "If you've been kindled your nervous system will be more dysregulated for a time than if you had not been kindled"..

I've noticed that your brain is looking for timelines and a prediction in recent posts. Unfortunately none of us can provide this. We would be doing you more harm if we did.

10 hours ago, SpiroC said:

It seems if you’ve been kindled you’re not going to be ok for a very long time. Am I correct in saying that?

Not necessarily. Kindling can be used as a very negative term if you are not careful. It is should just be used to describe what happens when the nervous system is destablised and further changes make things worse. You have not caught anything (like a disease). Pretty much everyone experiences some form of Kindling on here at some point.

@Chippy - Dr Josef Witdoering always speaks about this 18 month to 24 month timeline where things really start to improve.

Speaking to Nicole Lamberson she said the most severe cases are looking at 3-5 years.

Chris Paige said to me also around 3-5 years.

Looking at SA these timelines seem completely understated when you see what people are going through.

From your observations over the years , what do you see ?

Edited July 12Jul 12 by SpiroC