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The benefits of telling the truth


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I think we feel ashamed of sharing our most private, vulnerable memories to others, but i think this can work to our advantage in many ways, first because we tell people how things really are, without filtering out only what makes us look "cool" in the eyes of others, sharing our stories of abuse or strife with Psychiatry (as well as many other things) can show people think the current state of things, while most of the time we try to show while protecting our privacy. Much like rape victims, there is a stigma around it, some of them are embarassed to talk about it, or even hide the fact, in fear of being judged by others, and i think the same goes for former psychiatric patients, people are afraid of being deemed "crazy" or "psychotic" for it, or even for revolting against the establishment. It also carries a cathartic pleasure from talking about these uncomfortable things.

 

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I wish I had the courage to say what I'd really like to say to doctors. That would be so freeing! But I'm afraid they'd flag my medical record as being difficult, and they'd just point out my GAD diagnosis. Case closed.
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I wish I had the courage to say what I'd really like to say to doctors. That would be so freeing! But I'm afraid they'd flag my medical record as being difficult, and they'd just point out my GAD diagnosis. Case closed.

 

Say it anonymously, then! Either way, i don't see how that's a big deal.

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I find myself educating doctors about this problem. Most seem blissfully unaware. However I keep this to myself for the most part personally because others just don't want to know or it makes them feel uncomfortable.
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[82...]

I find myself educating doctors about this problem. Most seem blissfully unaware. However I keep this to myself for the most part personally because others just don't want to know or it makes them feel uncomfortable.

 

But that's the point! To blur the lines and destroy their world view!

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I wish I had the courage to say what I'd really like to say to doctors. That would be so freeing! But I'm afraid they'd flag my medical record as being difficult, and they'd just point out my GAD diagnosis. Case closed.

 

Say it anonymously, then! Either way, i don't see how that's a big deal.

 

I have doctor phobia. My blood pressure goes really high when I see a doctor. The less I tell them, the better, and the sooner I'll get out of there!

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[a9...]

'Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.' -

Brené Brown

 

My family (all except for my husband) made me choose: either I had to go back on psych drugs (which were literally killing me, yet they refused to believe it), or they'd abandon me. I chose life; they turned their backs and walked away. I thought the pain and grief of this 'choice' would kill me - on bad days it still almost does - but I know it's the best one I ever made.

 

The docs here have been pretty useless regarding tapering advice, etc., yet they acknowledge that my choice is the right one. (According to one, many/most benzo users have some form of past trauma/ptsd. In my case, it was childhood abuse, which the medication had mostly suppressed from my consciousness and memory. This became increasingly clear as I've been tapering down.)

 

The most freeing thing is that my husband and I no longer care about how others view this, or us, or what we know we've lived through thus far. That we know the truth, and are proud of my progress and what we're achieving through this hellish journey, is enough.

 

So yes, I agree with the OP: no shame, only pride. Vulnerability/truth = authenticity = strength.

 

❤️ Lara

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[82...]

I wish I had the courage to say what I'd really like to say to doctors. That would be so freeing! But I'm afraid they'd flag my medical record as being difficult, and they'd just point out my GAD diagnosis. Case closed.

 

Say it anonymously, then! Either way, i don't see how that's a big deal.

 

I have doctor phobia. My blood pressure goes really high when I see a doctor. The less I tell them, the better, and the sooner I'll get out of there!

 

That i can relate to. I have trauma of doctors, bunch of psychopaths. Though we can raise awareness here on the internet. :)

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[82...]

'Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.' -

Brené Brown

 

My family (all except for my husband) made me choose: either I had to go back on psych drugs (which were literally killing me, yet they refused to believe it), or they'd abandon me. I chose life; they turned their backs and walked away. I thought the pain and grief of this 'choice' would kill me - on bad days it still almost does - but I know it's the best one I ever made.

 

The docs here have been pretty useless regarding tapering advice, etc., yet they acknowledge that my choice is the right one. According to one, many/most benzo users have some form of past trauma/ptsd. In my case, it was childhood abuse, which the medication had mostly suppressed from my consciousness and memory. This became increasingly clear as I've been tapering down.

 

The most freeing thing is that my husband and I no longer care about how others view this, or us, or what we know we've lived through thus far. That we know the truth, and are proud of my progress and what we're achieving through this hellish journey, is enough.

 

So yes, I agree with the OP: no shame, only pride. Vulnerability/truth = authenticity = strength.

 

❤️ Lara

 

What a tough story, that your family can't support you, or even believe you. :'(

Thank god you found a husband who understands you.

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[a9...]

Thank you, savinghope.

 

It's the story of many on here, I'm afraid.

 

And yes, I thank God for a husband who supports me and believes in me. I wouldn't be here without him.

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My sister told me that I belonged in an insane asylum when I was too liberal in talking about the benzo mess. I don't confide in her much anymore. What's the use?
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My family and my hubby abandoned me. One nasty brother told me he is going to make sure I go to a psych ward forever. My pdoc laughed at this. But still. Funny, my friends support me.
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Jordan Peterson explains truth and its necessity really well in my opinion. Life without truth is truly hell. Also telling the truth is how we organise our lives in a spiritually agreeable way so that we achieve happiness and well being. Without truth as a foundation we live in fear and darkness. Anyone who has lived dishonestly knows this whether its the relationship, the work or the way we identify etc. If your miserable now, its worth investigating how much or little you pay homage to truth in your life. I hide my opinions at work and among family and friends constantly for fear of rejection and it leads to a sort of imposter syndrome where I haven't reconciled who I am with who I project to the world. The dissociation between the two leads to extreme feelings of being 'lost' is the best way i can describe it. This can be like torture. This is something ive had to confront during this whole ordeal

 

wow that felt like it just spilled out of me....probably a bit personal. Least im telling the truth  :) and can now feel much better ahhh

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I have a feeling that not too many people tell the truth to the doctors they see because otherwise this would be out in the open. I mean, it's been going on for over 50 years. 50 years of who knows how many people on these pills telling their doctors - well, something would have been done by now.
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I have a feeling that not too many people tell the truth to the doctors they see because otherwise this would be out in the open. I mean, it's been going on for over 50 years. 50 years of who knows how many people on these pills telling their doctors - well, something would have been done by now.

 

I feel that a lot of people on the pills keep pretty quiet for the fear of being cut off. And usually, those are the ones having considerable trouble coming off. The ones that don't have conisderable trouble coming off just resume with their lives and usually don't tell anyone and just keep on living. So we either have people who are coming off/have come off but are too vulnerable to share and bound not to be believed, or we have people who do fine, but are uninterested to spread any awareness outside of recovery circles because they just want to resume their lives. And most people not affected still want to cling to the idea that benzos are helpful, should they need them if something bad occurs in their life.

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While I agree that it would be great if we could share and be truthful with what we experience, even with some of my closer friends I feel that everyone wants "Facebook truth"--sugarcoating everything, never showing the downside to anything.

 

I have been feeling terribly sad about something the last few days, and a friend yesterday told me I worry too much. I was so hurt. She is someone who knows I suffer terribly from anxiety and depression, and if she was facing what I was concerned about she too would be a mess. Really hard when this process is so isolating not to be able to reach out and share the less pleasant sides of life. The media claims there is less stigma with mental illness but I don't believe that anything has changed.

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