Wahoo! I had a very good appointment with my psychiatrist today. He is taking me off of antipsychotics and putting me back on a mood stabilizer for the fall, winter and next spring with the plan in place to still remove all meds next summer (if I get through the next few seasons okay). I’m very excited!! I’ve been off mood stabilizers since January 2021 and holding my own so now we’ll see how I do without an antipsychotic in my system. The one I’ve been on hasn’t been at a therapeutic dose for a couple of months due to my psychiatrist lowering it because of side effects. I’ve been holding my own well even at the lowest possible dose. Staying away from marijuana and alcohol helps as does eating right, sleeping well, connecting with my parrot (Saba), friends and family, and walking everywhere I go. 🙏
I'm very grateful to have my psychiatrist's help in removing meds this time 'round. He's very knowledgeable in the different meds and their side effects. He gave me a lot of options today regarding different antipsychotics and mood stabilizers but also acknowledged that with antipsychotics I don't have a lot of options as I've had so many negative side effects to every one I've been on. I'm hoping if I continue to stay off drugs and alcohol as well as continue abiding by the Four Pillars of Health (Sleep, Food, Movement and Connection) that I should do alright!
A sneak peek at my upcoming graphic novel. Below is the cover page. The short 14 page book should be done by early October. It's being created for a man working on his PhD at UVic through a study he's doing called Madness and Myth in Graphic Narratives. It's about art and psychosis. The graphic novel shares a bit of my story surrounding the psychosis I experienced in 2019 to early 2021.
