THE NATURAL OUTCOME

Please don’t let the intensity of your signs of healing prevent you from believing that you are actually getting better. As you know, withdrawal is complex. The nervous system is an intricate, sensitive network and the repair process is not linear. This is why it can feel like you are on a roller coaster ride and why your relatives and friends may wonder if you’ve totally “lost it.”

One day you feel well enough to have some activity and the next, you’re flat out in bed. One day you feel optimistic and may even be happily reassuring them that you’re going to be okay, and the next, you find yourself crying, worrying, wondering… “What if something else is wrong? What if this is not withdrawal? What if I never get better?” Or your days may be intense signs of healing with no lessing of intensity… waves within a wave.

I know this sounds familiar because I can’t tell you how many of these conversations I’ve had over the years. Yes, it is normal for these moments of doubt to appear, but don’t underestimate the ability of the human body to heal… the miracle that it is. Inevitably, those receptors become up-regulated, things balance out, the nervous system becomes calm again, the symptoms disappear, and normal life resumes.

This is why I always write that recovery is the natural outcome of withdrawal. No matter what stage you are at – even in cases of extended healing where, sadly, it is taking longer than it does for others, it is important to not give up.

Eventually, you come to that bend in the long road. Things begin to improve and you sense that you’re closer to the finishing line than you thought. Then comes recovery. You leave the online support groups and get busy doing all the things you had to put on hold while you patiently waited.

So keep going. Continue to hold on. This is not going to last forever. ABIND (antidepressant and benzodiazepine induced neurological dysfunction) is temporary. Your innately intelligent and resilient nervous system will recover and find its way back to the right balance and calm. The dark clouds will drift away and the sun will shine down on you again.

Sending healing thoughts and wishes,