Risperdal withdrawal

Hey y'all, I'm quitting risperdal and getting worrying side effects. I was at 2 mg, then 1.5 for a week, 1 for 10 days, and then .5 for maybe another 10. Been completely off for a couple weeks now.
My heart rate is absolutely fucked. My RHR is usually 60-70 and it's constantly at 90-100+. I was taking in a lot of nicotine (around 70 mg/day) and never had any problems before quitting risperdal besides temporarily increased HR, I even cut my dose to 1/3 of what I usually smoke and my heartrate is still through the roof. did any of you experience anything like this when coming off risperdal?

CPS tore me from my loving home and ruined my life.
This is the culmination of events that transpired, please don't doubt the info I provide as I promise this is all perfectly recollected. Amazing how trauma does that.
Background:
I was raised in an upper middle class family in Arizona, Mom was a kick ass real estate broker and my father was a former executive turned business owner. 1997, my brother who is four years older than I was diagnosed with a form of cancer back then that was fatal. He had a tumor wrapped around his spine, causing severe light sensitivity and headaches. Slowly killing him, took over eight months for someone to find it after about a dozen spinal taps thinking it was spinal meningitis. I'm being told at eight my brother very well may die, infact the probability is very high. He was to have a surgery done that had only had one survivor as the surgery had only been done half a dozen times. My brother beats Cancer, goes without saying I was over the moon.
During this time my family realizing I'm not like everyone else had me evaluated, I was diagnosed with super attentive ADHD, promting an IQ test. I was rated eight points below genius levels, being told I'm near MENSA levels and could achieve it with the right schooling. Obviously my family put me in the best schools money could afford. During this time in the year 98 my father went down to Mexico to buy gifts for family members and friends as they were cheap and a few hour drive. Events unfold that result in my father's wrongful arrest, he had money so they'd extort us. Mom raising two children, running her business and ensuring my older brother kept up with appointments. Took on the Mexican government, this resulted in national media coverage. My mother fighting to shield us from their gaze and reports. Smuggling my dad a spy camera to get photos for the US news about his conditions. Our family losing via theft and extortion in 70ish days over million dollars in 98. Only way I could see my dad was to go to a Mexican Prison, where I was surrounded by dirty, ak armed people they grab off the street to guard the prison. I was forcefully strip searched in front of eight men at 8-9. My mother was livid and threatened death if they ever did that shit again. I always knew my mom was a badass but that sealed it for me. Eventually my mother freed my father. This resulted in tons of media coverage with my dad doing a bunch of interviews and condemning our government and state of refusing to help or protect American Citizens.
Shortly after my brother's suffering effects of the drugs from cancer resulted in issues with his mental control. This resulted in his injury which he told me as I wasn't there was as a result of a sports injury. He went nuts at home and Mom and Dad took him for emergency mental care, as they were terrified with no idea how to handle it. He in psychosis was all over the place but eventually came home, a teacher once seeing his sports injury and him telling them why he wasn't at school. Resulted in a report to CPS, this was emboldened by the state government being very angry with their humiliation. I was questioned at school in front of a principal. Nothing came of that, a few weeks later my mom had a mental break, go figure with everything that happened, her break leading to her withdrawing from work and isolating with severe depression. CPS decided at this time even though we still were cared for and living in a great home in Scottsdale, Arizona. They were going to strike, the police showed up my brother screaming at me to go with him and run. Me being taught back then police are your friends.
He ran, I didn't. This resulted in me being taken by CPS. Sat with a "child advocate" I use that term loosely. I was interrogated at 9-10 and told if I told the truth. I'd be placed with my brother and we'd stay together until they sorted everything out and I'd be back with my family. I told them the truth and they told me I needed to stop lying because I couldn't be back with them without the truth. Upon reflection they only wanted their version of truth, the led my conversation and manipulated me. Twisting my words. This resulted in me being taken and thrown in a shelter where I was abused. I suffered mental ,physical, and sexual abuse. When reporting it I was ignored. My father only able to get me out of care if he divorced my mother. So he did, this made her episodes worse. I eventually went home to dad. I didn't want to be with dad, CPS had filled my head with lies. I went back to Mom, her psychosis resulted in her weaponizing the mental health clinic mentioned before. Any negative actions I took looked bad on them and could make things worse. I obviously having crisis due to what happened to me personally. Eventually CPS came back and took me again, didn't offer me to my dad and threw me back into a group home. My father fought all over again. My childhood best friends parents took me in, I was safe. However CPS constant interference in their lives and my mother's psychosis made things uncomfortable for them, resulted in me going back into care. Two months later I was back with my father. Cue, the government providing half-assed care.
I was forced fed medications following the shelter by CPS, super high levels of Depacote, Risperdal, Adderall. My father seeing me sheet white, with a zombie like demeanor. Had my blood run, I was going to die from the levels I was given. Once free of those drugs, I received no care despite CPS finding after three years. My family never did anything wrong, no abuse and my safety and my brothers were always guaranteed. Now I live a life of misery.
Later diagnosised with CCPTSD (Complex Childhood Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), Bi-Polar 2, Anxiety and Depression.
Obviously this all resulted in a regression of my intelligence and created a self destructive monster. This brought to a head when I rolled my convertible car at 18. I survived due to my seatbelt failing. Having suffering a TBI I was still mobile. I was restrained and they pushed paralytics. This resulted in my heart stopping, I was legally dead for 57 seconds. I awoke to my family surrounding me terrified and I've never felt more like a shit. I have worked to overcome this over the years and I think because I don't recall 2 minutes before all the way up to waking up in the hospital. I believe I may have tried to kill myself. Cue the justice system hammering me through the floor. This obviously compounded by my lack of trust of the police, courts and justice system. Cue four of five years of severely destructive behaviors. I found my wife who thank god saved my life, and got me the care I needed. My brother not being in care turned out great, hyper successful however emotionally cold to his brother and mother.
This all comes to the surface because, for me to get state/federally licensed for my career I needed to dig out all my criminal records. Reading these I don't recall the events. I'm told it is caused by the TBI, obviously since I don't trust the police and I can be dismissive, standoffish and verbally aggressive. (Cursing, Insulting, Resistive.) Let me preface resistivie, is to what they want, never arrest. I never fought back. Results in these reports being written to make me look like the biggest piece of human shit. My wife confirming and getting key figures to inform me most of what they put in these reports was lies. I had an amazing career but in 2017, suffered a mental break and resulted in me being told I was disabled, the smallest interactions caused manic episodes. I applied for disability, I was dismissed by SSD and told I'm a faker and just don't want to work. Despite over two thousand visits and documentation of my disability since 18. I sued the government and won, I was sent back to the disability court where here in a couple months a new hearing must take place. Then 2022 when my father and I finally repair our relationship and I'll get to live my dream of working for my dad. He dies due to surgical complications. Mom and Dad got OG covid so ofc that terror, however Mom had been diagnosed with lung cancer in 19, so she got covid following a lobe removal. Cue 5 years of madness, she had a clean bill of health when Dad died. Now she's stage four. (Lung, Brain, Adrenal).
All of this reliving, I'm so angry, so frustrated and want to implode/explode and just escape this timeline/life. Sometimes I wish at 18 I had been successful and I stayed dead. I wish I could get my story out there.
CPS RUINS LIVES, THE GOVERNMENT HATES THE SICK AND MENTALLY UNWELL.
Maybe this will get buried, however I'm hoping to tell my story even if it just falls silent in the ether, will help me.
I'd love to expose the government, however no one cares and no one ever has. I will be broken forever and it's because the government ruined my life.
Side Note: I may lose my job, because of these priors that were previously (set aside) Arizona's expungement.
/rant
Thanks for reading.
TLDR: My life was tumultuous and the government ruined my future, I suffer every day now and I want to just vanish.
Side Note: I am safe, I am not a danger to myself or others. I have no plans for suicide. I am religious, suicide is a sin. It's also selfish as all hell. Most people call me crazy but when I died, I saw my dad's mother who died before I was born. She told me to stop being angry, it'll get better and to stop squandering the gift of life I was given. I also played with my dog I lost a few months prior. I only know it was her because when I described her to my father had never shown me any photos of her, revealed a photo and asked if that was her and I proclaimed yes. Finally I'm not crazy.
I know where I'm going when it's all over, I'm in no hurry to get there. I simply want the pain and suffering to go away. I wish I wasn't looked at like an unstable shit. I wish for peace and serenity, even if only for a small moment.
Evidence available.

I wrote this for the book I'm working on (nonvisiblepartofthespectrum.com) and would love to get some feedback, find out where people disagree, and so on!
"Meltdowns suck. Ask me how I know.
A meltdown occurs when an individual is pushed past their tolerance for sensory input, circumstance, or emotional challenge. It can result in an overwhelming response that manifests through a range of behaviors, from withdrawal and silence to verbal outbursts and physical expressions of distress. Once crossed, this threshold signifies a point where the individual's usual coping mechanisms cannot effectively handle the sensory overload, emotional intensity, or complexity of the situation at hand. It is typical for individuals with autism to struggle with emotional regulation at the best of times, but during a meltdown, they largely lose control of at least one aspect of their behavior.
There is no value in a meltdown; I would never choose to have one nor allow myself to slip into one if I could avoid it. When having a meltdown, I appear angry, I am less articulate, less likely to convince, and less likely to get the actual outcome I prefer or need. Meltdowns are embarrassing, damaging to relationships, frighten children, take time to recover from, and weaken my resilience toward future episodes. And yet, they may be somewhat unavoidable.
Although anyone can have a meltdown, they are much more common among individuals on the spectrum as they appear to reach their tolerance limits sooner.
“On the brink of self-destruction Widespread panic Broken glass inside my head… There’s a plague inside of me Eating at my disposition” - Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day
A meltdown, deeply rooted in the individual experiences of those on the autism spectrum, can take various forms and be expressed through a wide array of behaviors. Each is reflective of the person's attempt to navigate (or escape) overwhelming sensory input, emotional distress, or both. These manifestations can be broadly categorized into externalized and internalized behaviors, although the distinction is not always clear-cut, as individuals may exhibit characteristics of both depending on the situation and their coping mechanisms.
Verbal outbursts, including shouting, screaming, cursing, or crying, are common. The individual may express their distress through words or sounds that are louder and more intense than normal communication, sometimes involving phrases or sentences that are repeated multiple times. During a meltdown, the individual’s judgment may be impaired, and they may say provocative things just to elicit a response or to cause upset, regretting it later.
Those experiencing a meltdown may act out physically. This can range from pacing and rocking to more intense physical expressions like hitting and throwing objects or self-injurious behaviors such as head-slapping or biting oneself. These actions are not intended to cause harm to others but are manifestations of the extreme stress the individual is experiencing.
Understanding neurodiversity helps us comprehend behaviors that might otherwise perplex us. Yet this understanding is not a carte blanche. While an individual might display physical reactions during a meltdown, these actions are not beyond scrutiny, especially if they breach personal boundaries. In these heightened instances, it is imperative to prioritize safety and professional guidance. Such measures ensure both the individual's well-being and the integrity of the supportive environment around them.
My sense is that in this state, the individual with autism desperately wants to communicate the depth of their emotions but cannot express them conventionally. Sometimes, acting out may be a crude mechanism for showing others just how important the matter feels to them in the moment.
I wish I had great advice for you on how to modulate your behavior during a meltdown or advice for loved ones on how to help an autistic individual stay in emotional control during a meltdown. I wish I did, but I do not.
That is because even in my own case, when having a meltdown, I act in ways and say things that I wish I did not. Before my autism diagnosis, I did not know what these “episodes” were and assumed they were panic attacks. As time went by, I started to wonder if they were more serious than that.
A meltdown can be likened to an escalation of the flight response. When the situation cannot be escaped, and there is no option, the individual succumbs to what feels like insurmountable stress resulting from an unacceptable situation.
Once I had my diagnosis in hand, though, I better recognized my meltdowns for what they were and initially spent a long time wishing, hoping, and working on it so that the next time I had a meltdown, I would be a gentleman. That proved largely fruitless.
The frontal cortex, which is crucial for high-level functions such as reasoning, decision-making, and emotional regulation, may become less effective during a meltdown. Stress and emotional distress can impair the frontal cortex’s ability to function optimally, making it harder to use reasoning and problem-solving skills. It can feel like the frontal cortex "shuts down".
Under the extreme stress of a meltdown, there's an increased activation of the more primal brain areas, such as the amygdala, which plays a role in emotional processing and the fight-or-flight response. This shift can lead to a more instinctual, survival-oriented behavior, which is less mediated by the higher brain functions of the frontal cortex.
Since controlling my emotions during a meltdown proved so difficult, I switched my focus to preventing the meltdown. Candidly, that’s impossible for some people. For certain people on the spectrum, their sensitivities might be so high that meltdowns are, at least to some extent, a fact of life. I am confident that the frequency and perhaps duration can be substantially reduced with a cooperative effort from the individual on the spectrum and the support network around them. Meltdowns are destructive enough both for the individual and those around them that any reduction is a positive step.
It reminds me of the ancient joke:
Q: How many psychiatrists does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: Just one, but the lightbulb must want to change!
-Ancient Dad Joke
Hackneyed or not, it’s a valid point: the first step to reducing meltdowns is for the individual who experiences them to want to reduce them both for their own sake and for the sake of the loved ones around them.
During a meltdown, there is an intense feeling of righteousness related to whatever the issue is. The person having the meltdown will be morally convinced that their position is the correct one, that their rights are inviolable, and that the situation could largely be resolved if the other person involved would simply relent or utter some specific sentiment, thereby fixing the whole thing. All of which goes back to the primary point: modulating behavior during the meltdown is hard, but reducing the frequency of meltdowns is eminently doable for most.
Managing meltdowns for individuals with autism can be challenging, but there are effective strategies that can help reduce their frequency and ideally, even their severity. Here are some steps that can be helpful:
First, you should attempt to identify the most common triggers. Understanding what triggers meltdowns is crucial. Triggers can vary widely but often include overwhelming sensory environments, unexpected changes in routine, or emotional stress. Keeping a diary to note when meltdowns occur and what happened immediately before can help identify patterns. I kept a simple journal for a few years where I would score my overall emotional state for the day on a 0-5 scale, then “star” the dates where I experienced a meltdown. It became apparent that meltdowns could often come after a run of otherwise hard days.
Next, you should learn to recognize the “flooded” state, which also known as “the rumble stage”. This is the point where the individual becomes overwhelmed by emotion but has not yet lost control of their behavior. It constitutes your last offramp before a full meltdown, and if you can catch yourself and modulate (or even suppress) your emotions for a moment, you might be able to save yourself form spiraling down further.
It may help to create a more predictable environment. Individuals with autism often benefit from routine and predictability. Try to establish a consistent daily schedule. If changes need to occur, prepare the individual in advance as much as possible. If changes are a major stressor that leads to meltdowns, taking steps to minimize such stress can only benefit the cause.
Skills such as deep breathing, counting to ten, or retreating to a quiet space can help manage emotions. These should be taught during calm periods so that the individual can learn to apply them when they start feeling overwhelmed. It’s important not to withdraw simply to ruminate or perseverate over the real or imagined aggrievement: that will almost assuredly make it worse. Use the time to de-escalate your mood as much as possible.
Many with autism find visual aids like picture schedules, timers, and warning cards helpful in understanding what to expect throughout the day, which can reduce anxiety and help prevent meltdowns.
Quite a few emotional outbursts are rooted in sensory sensitivities. Working with an occupational therapist to develop sensory integration strategies, such as using weighted vests, noise-canceling headphones, or tactile toys can be beneficial. Even if each step you take provides only minor benefit, those benefits can be cumulative, so be sure to do everything that helps, even if only a little.
Difficulty in communication can lead to frustration and meltdowns. For youth on the spectrum, speech therapy can help improve communication skills. Additionally, for those with communication difficulties, teaching and using alternative communication methods such as sign language or picture exchange communication systems (PECS) can be helpful. Quite often the trigger for a meltdown can be found in the relationship between the individual with autism and a loved one, and that relationship could clearly benefit from clearer communication on both sides of the equation. Sometimes, clearing up or resolving a fundamental disagreement or misunderstanding can prevent many future meltdowns.
Ensure that family members, teachers, and caregivers understand the individual's triggers and know how to use calming techniques and strategies effectively. Training and workshops on autism can be very beneficial if they are conducted by knowledgeable groups or individuals.
Some individuals with autism may have food sensitivities that can affect their behavior, so a balanced diet tailored to their needs can be important.
Getting professional support can be a big deal. Regular consultations with professionals who specialize in autism, such as psychologists, psychiatrists, or behavioral therapists, can provide guidance tailored to individual needs and develop specific strategies to manage and reduce meltdowns.
In some cases, medication may be prescribed to help manage anxiety, depression, or other symptoms that could contribute to meltdowns. This should be considered carefully with healthcare providers. Both Abilify (aripiprazole) and Risperdal (risperidone) have been approved for the treatment of the irritability associated with autism.
And finally, it pains me to say it, given how much I personally hate exercising, but regular physical activity can truly help manage stress and improve overall well-being, resulting in fewer meltdowns.

i was diagnosed bipolar 2 last week. currently i am feeling all types of emotions. angry one minute. crying the next.
are there such things as mixed episodes? or is this most likely a withdrawal from lexapro coupled with starting risperdal?

I had my first psychotic episode in autumn and have been put on antipsychotics since November. I am pretty sure psychosis causes cognitive impairment itself, but I've been put on risperdal, olanzapine, haldol, fluanxol, abilify and seroquel(currently taking it for insomnia). I recently quit abilify 5mg cold turkey even tho I took it only for a week, but I read one of the withdrawals is worsened cognitive impairment, how screwed am I? I've lost the ability to read, pay attention, memorize, I barely have any thoughts and I'm only 16. Am I just lazy or did these meds fuck me up?

Both were taken from surviving anti depressants.com.
If you are switching from the injection to the extended-release tablets, you need to be careful about the overlap -- you could be taking a high dose if you have recently had an injection and you add tablets. Probably the safest time to make the switch to a lower-dosage daily tablet would be in the 5th week, when the injection is wearing off.
Hi here's my tapering off experience:
I was on 4 mg of risperdal after being diagnosed with psychosis, and started tapering off three months later.
I didnt like the drug because I felt lifeless and it was too sad for me. My psychiatrist said I would have to stay on the drug for another year to two years minimum to avoid relapse. I visited a hormone doctor who prescribed many vitamins, a gluten free diet and injections of vitamin B12 (check if you have a deficiency in this vitamin and if you are celiac, both can lead to mental unbalances even psychosis).
I visited my general practitioner and we decided to start tapering off. We decided to go onto pills to facilitate the tapering. He only gave me half the injection, and two weeks later I was meant to start with 2 mg of risperdal pills. As the consta injection stays in your system for seven weeks or so, I had a strong reaction to taking the pills. It was like an overdose, I woke up completely stiff, but alive. So, we decided against taking pills with risperdal still in my system and let the medication taper off over a seven week time period. I then took the minimum dosage of risperdal, o.5mg for two weeks, then 0.25 mg for two weeks and then completely stopped. The side effects of my dramatic withdrawal were depression, but my healthy dose of vitamins, especially Niacin and vitamin B12, exercise and a therapist twice a week kept me going. I strongly believe in this 'prescription to nutritional healing' guide, as my hormone doctor prescribed almost exactly to what this guide prescribes for schizophrenia. I was enrolled in an art class at the time, which really helped the depression withdrawal. I really hope this helps
So my question is did the person add 0.5 tablets in the 9th week or 7th week.Its kinda confusing.Please help

Hey all, pardon the throw-away.
I have been taking for the better part of 7 years, 150mg Effexor twice daily paired with 100mg Lamictal twice daily and .5mg+1mg (day, night respectively) Risperdal.
I begun treatment after severe and debilitating panic attacks, later diagnosed as agoraphobia, during my late teens that, luckily, after 5-6 months did in fact work, restoring me to roughly 80-90% functional.
I could finally resume my college, go out in fairly crowded spaces and so on, though, not without a tiny bit of anxiety every now and then, especially in more stressful / triggering environments (flashing lights, loud music, etc.).
The past year, my psychiatrist advised me to start cutting down on my prescriptions which I slowly, with his coordination and continued help, done so.
Since December though, after cutting Lamictal to 50mg twice daily, Risperdal to .5mg daily and Effexor to just 75mg, I have been getting unrelenting nausea, feeling like throwing up almost constantly, but especially in triggering environments.
Luckily, I work remotely, and everything I need from groceries to clothes, I can order online.
I am though, at my wits end. I don't want my life to be like this forever to come, but I can't seem to escape.
Writing here, since my, admittedly little, research suggests I may be experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Shouldn't the nausea, supposing it is a withdrawal symptom, have subsided after a few weeks?
Apologies if my post is disorganized or concise. Has anyone gone through a similar situation? Any advise for a long time 'user' of Effexor or any related medicine?
Thank you sincerely for your time and attention.
​

I had drug induced psychosis. Been on risperdal 1mg. for 6 months and been tappering. I'm at 0.125mg for a couple weeks. lost my period for the last few months. I have anxiety but insomnia has improved some. Would it be better to just stop or continue the small dose I'm on. I'm wondering if the anxiety is from taking the med or withdrawal.

compilation
~
Reddit:
An Honest "ADHD" consultation (reddit post from Antipsychiatry)
Lying with statistics: Stimulants and heart disease
As a neuroscience student, it baffles me how people can have blind faith in psychiatry
Antipsych-library experts
Antipsych books
Compilation of arguments against therapy
Resources for withdrawals
~
Youtube:
The Pharmacaust: The Destruction of the "Mentally Ill"
Jim Gottstein Too Evil to be Believable: Zyprexa Papers Expose Fraud PI Podcast 50
Gaining Autonomy and Navigating Psychiatric Medication: Olga Runciman and Celine Cyr in conversation
Depression and the Secret to Happiness Johann Hari
Episode 5. Thomas Teo on Critical Psychology
Richard Feynman on Pseudoscience
The Honest Psychiatrist - Episode 11 "An old trick"
What Is Structural/Systemic Oppression? I TheSaneSociety
My experience with psychiatry that resulted in a lawsuit that settled.
is psychiatry a pseudoscience?
PROTEST PSYCHIATRY - protesting the American Psychiatric Association (APA)
How to End Psychiatry and the Mental Health System -- Thoughts of a Former Therapist
APA Protest - Laura Delano
Recovering From Psychiatry- The Power of Psychiatric Diagnosis
Dr Peter Breggin: The Conscience of Psychiatry
The Power Threat Meaning Framework A conceptual alternative to psychiatric diagnosis
The Untold Story of Psychotropic Drugging - Making a Killing - Full Documentary
Psychiatry: The Science of Lies – Thomas Szasz × Audiobook
Life After Psych Drugs: Will Your Intelligence Return?
Podcast 413: The great psychiatry fraud
@Council for Evidence-based Psychiatry
Psychiatric Drugs: Why They Often Fail Us Over Long Term
How to Be a Psychiatrist - 9 Years of Education in 9 Minutes
Losing Friends & Family While In Antidepressant/ Benzo Withdrawal // The Collateral Damage
Psychiatrists and the pharma industry are to blame for the current ‘epidemic’ of mental disorders
CrazyWise
Lucy Johnstone - Against Psychiatric Diagnosis
The cause of depression: suppression Dr Gabor Maté
Does Lack of Serotonin Really Cause Depression? With Dr. Gabor Maté
Modern Culture Is Traumatizing and NOT Normal! With Dr. Gabor Maté
The Trauma Of Abandonment Dr. Gabor Mate
Dr Gabor Maté Live in London The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture
Dr. Gabor Maté: The Myth of Normal & The Power of Connection Wholehearted
Dr. Gabor Maté Mental Illness Is a Normal Response to Our Society
Peter Gøtzsche Critical Conversation about Psychiatry Psychology Is Podcast 13
Bruce E. Levine The Rise and Fall of Psychiatry Psychology Is Podcast 45
Psychiatry & Big Pharma: Exposed - Dr James Davies, PhD
CAUSE OF DEATH: UNKNOWN - Big Pharma & the selling of mental illness
Big Pharma - How much power do drug companies have? DW Documentary
Gravitas Plus: How Big Pharma pushes dangerous drugs and reaps profits
ORGANIZED CRIME in the PSYCHIATRIC AND DRUG INDUSTRY with PETER GØTZSCHE ~ enGrama #98
Bruce Cohen - The Failings of “Mental Health”: How a Seemingly Benign Concept Might be Dangerous
El Marketing de la Locura DOCUMENTAL COMPLETO
La invención de trastornos mentales Marino Perez Alvarez TEDxTorrelodones
Joanna Moncrieff - The Myth of the Chemical Cure: The Politics of Psychiatric Drug Treatment
Joanna Moncrieff - The Troubling Story of Antipsychotic Medicine - Offstage Interview - 2018
Dr Joanna Moncrieff Chemical Imbalance: Truth or Myth MH360°
Busting Myths about Psychosis & Antipsychotics with Dr Joanna Moncrieff
The Myth of the Chemical Cure (What Psychiatric Drugs Really Do)
How Safe are Antipsychotic Drugs?
The Challenge of Going Off Psychiatric Drugs The Backstory The New Yorker
David Healy - Hearts and Minds: Psychotropic Drugs and Violence
David Healy - Time to abandon evidence based medicine?
~
Youtube:
There is No Informed Consent in Psychiatry - Robert Whitaker, Journalist
The Lack of Neuroscientific Evidence Behind Psychiatric Disorders: Robert Whitaker, Journalist
Dr. Heather Ashton on Benzodiazepines - Overview
The 'Chemical Imbalance' Myth
Benzodiazepine-Induced Brain Injury: The Hidden Prescription Epidemic
Mental Illness Is Not a Brain Disorder: UCLA Professor David Cohen, PhD
David Cohen - Mad Science, Psychiatric Coercion and the Therapeutic State
Thomas Szasz: Does mental illness exist?
Rethinking Antipsychotics (Robert Whitaker)
She's EXPOSING the horrifying truth of anti-depressants and Big Pharma is not happy Redacted News
Psychiatric Drugs Disrupt Human Relationships
Coming Off Psychiatric Drugs Workshop with Will Hall
Psych-Drugs Harm - Seven: Breggin - Brain Impairment and Withdrawal - Sept. 16, 2015
Dr Peter Breggin: Chronic Brain Impairment & Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal
Take These Broken Wings -- Healing from Schizophrenia, Cure without Medication (FULL FILM)
OPEN DIALOGUE: an alternative Finnish approach to healing psychosis (COMPLETE FILM)
Depression is a disease of civilization: Stephen Ilardi at TEDxEmory
Lown 2016 - Dr. John loannidis Keynote: Evidence-Based Medicine Has Been Hijacked (FULL SPEECH)
Public Lecture by Professor Peter Gøtzsche: "Psychiatric drugs do more harm than good"
An Introduction to Evidence Based Medicine.
"Why Most Published Research Findings are False" Part I
Stanford's Sapolsky On Depression in U.S. (Full Lecture)
Busting Myths about Psychosis & Antipsychotics with Dr Joanna Moncrieff
Big Pharma uses Influencers
Pirate Therapy! Why you should be pissed!
@Medicating Normal
~
Reddit:
Exploring the Psychiatrist-Industry Financial Relationship: Insight from the Open Payment Data of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Risperdal and autism: this is what makes me sad.
No more psychiatric labels: Why formal psychiatric diagnostic systems should be abolished
Anyone read about Lindsay Clancy? This is such a sad situation. Why would the docs prescribe her this many drugs in such a short time?
Psychiatry thy name is cherry-picking.
Has schizophrenia really been eradicated in Western Lapland?
Modern day Psychiatry is so comically flawed and nobody sees it.
Rejecting the Disease Model in Psychiatry by Harriet Fraad co-host of the INJIYH podcast
Worlds #2 Neurologist: "psychiatry’s most fundamental characteristic is its ignorance"
"People we think are smart are more likely to be educated or experienced in their careers, we confuse that with smarts. So when we call upon experts we hear them out but that doesn't mean they have any analytical ability or any ability to process the information at hand." -Marilyn vos Savant, 228 IQ
Parents Often Bring Children to Psychiatric E.R.s to Subdue Them, Study Finds
"Cognitive Behavioral Therapy" is bullshit
This TikTok video needs to blow up. It explains our disorder perfectly. Please like and comment
"Too many doctors find it easier or more plausible to blame adverse drug reactions on the patients 'mental illness'. This violates principles of evidence based care. When the presentation worsens following an intervention.. let’s not double down and increase the dose of the drug."
CBT textbook showing how to make people accept their boss's abuse
Machine Learning Fails to Identify Depression Based on Neurobiology
Antipsychotic induced Parkinsons-like diseases are very common
Antipsychotics cause brain damage
"Know Risks" Episode 10: Destructive Treatment: Are Doctors To Blame?
Benztropine for psych-drug induced Parkinson-like diseases
~
Reddit:
Scientific article: Secondary Effects of Antipsychotics: Women at Greater Risk Than Men
So I was in a mental 'hospital' recently and it reminded me a lot of the BITE model (it basically determines if something is a cult). This is my analysis for the first part: Behavior Control
Psych ward BITE model analysis pt 2: Information Control
Mental 'hospitals' are really cult like. BITE model analysis pt 3/4 Thought Control and Emotion Control
Hearing voices others can’t Rethinking mental health diagnosis and treatment
Inpatient psychiatry is a cult.
There is meaning and there is hope
Psychiatry is a toxic, meaningless and hopeless meaning-framework
The false premises psychiatry has which fuel antipsychiatry

{article:} Perceived Coercion During Admission Into Psychiatric Hospitalization Increases Risk of Suicide Attempts After Discharge

"I'm starting to suspect that much of the demand for therapy now is not because of an increasingly mentally ill generation but a desperately lonely one. A lot of young people are so starved for human connection that they're paying strangers just to have someone listen to them." -> "and with what world are we able to form community in? more and more public space is allocated to private capital, more and more of our time is spent laboring for private capital: your isolation is extremely profitable. as our society forces us into profitable isolation, our symptoms of this oppression become treated as 'illnesses,' to be solved not by changing the world around you, but by taking medicine until you are "cured"-or, "normal" (which means docile and productive)"
Aspects and tactics of Cults and emotional manipulators
Psychiatry Uses Too Many Assumptions
Found this and felt it needed a repost - "As a neuroscience student, it baffles me how people can have blind faith in psychiatry"
Psychiatry Ruined my Life
What is psychiatry's response to the WHO and UN declaring forced psychiatry to be torture?
Everything I learned and my story
The parts of commitment standards that get ignored
~
Misc.
https://www.reddit.com/radicalmentalhealth/comments/y1lwix/worlds_2_neurologist_psychiatrys_most_fundamental
https://www.reddit.com/aspiememes/comments/y1qjyp/this_is_extremely_relatable_this_is_why_i_let
https://www.reddit.com/radicalmentalhealth/comments/y39lga/i_signed_those_forms_under_duress
https://www.reddit.com/Antipsychiatry/comments/y3cnpu/how_voting_and_consensus_created_the_diagnostic
https://www.reddit.com/radicalmentalhealth/comments/y6ioj4/summary_of_research_on_antidepressants_summarized
https://www.reddit.com/Psychiatric_research/comments/y6ox3o/what_psychiatry_means_by_antipsychotics_are
https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/the-biology-human-nature/202210/the-debate-over-psychiatric-diagnosis
https://www.reddit.com/psychology/comments/y8h89m/new_research_suggests_that_to_reduce_fear_of
https://www.madintheuk.com/2022/10/interview-with-jaakko-seikkula-creator-of-the-open-dialogue-approach/
https://www.reddit.com/CPTSD/comments/ymh5yp/just_diagnosed_with_lupus_learned_there_may_be_a

{link not working:} https://twitter.com/thekwakuel/status/1588336159947915265?t=bnYohlUgUdOXGa74KE4oAw&s=09

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKhVuMKteto
https://www.reddit.com/AbuseInterrupted/comments/xy1uqj/things_you_might_miss_when_youre_from_a
https://www.reddit.com/AbuseInterrupted/comments/y26fm9/as_soon_as_someone_says_something_like_i_know
https://www.reddit.com/AbuseInterrupted/comments/y6dwig/counterdependency_the_idea_that_you_dont_need

Fuck the world You'll never be the same again because of it edition (brought to you by the good old USA and your friends at the FDA)
As of today...
30 years of Risperdal (risperidone) approval - The 2nd second generation neuroleptic (seize the brain) (antipsychotic) dopamine antagonist (BLOCKer) stops dopamine natural and organic brain and body chemistry essential for regulating organ function and health
A reminder just in case you forgot or never heard:
30 years of capitalizing on the failures haldol (haloperidol) brought to medicine/psychiatry in 1967 - the second ap that made the first antipsychotic look like nothing
30 years of attempted murder
30 years of never being able to get off medication that interacts with your body even if you do (stop taking it) and for a while too
30 years of injury (medical injury) and risk of death (lifelong users get 20 years cut from their life if not sudden)
30 years of never ending pain and pressure
30 years of pleasure theft
30 years of depression and fear
30 years of organ damage
30 years of electrical shocks
30 years of DNA damage and hormone inbalances
30 years of people not minding their own fucking business
30 years of not using the proper institutions to hold civil disruption accountable
30 years of violence and kidnapping and civil wars
30 years of taxpayer kickbacks to big pharma
30 years of torture and abuse
30 years of family divisions and state aggression
30 years of psychosis, mania, withdraws, aggression
30 years of clumsiness and reduced judgment
30 years of sleeping half of the day
30 years of shrunk blood vessels and clogged arteries
30 years of blocking or reducing effectiveness of THC
30 years of neural connections severed and brain cell loss shrinkage and permanent damage. Permanent memory loss.
30 years of tying financial issues to medical issues
30 years of bedbounding
30 years of metabolic dysfunction including the ability to move your stomach = DISABLING functional people (work to welfare)
30 years of INFECTIONS (wbc), bacterial and others
30 years of forced transgenderism
30 years of enabling a company to also create methamphetamine, levamosole cut, asbestos talcum powder, and the original creators of fentanyl (different from border BUT STILL)
30 years of media silence and coverups
30 years of globalist collision (medical complex)
30 years of everyone pretending like it doesn't exist and hasn't and doesn't effect anyone
30 years of accelerating social class divisions
30 years of adding serotonin to dopamine suppression
30 years of misinformed consent and side effects
30 years of chemical castration
30 years of sensory reduction
30 years of psychiatrists being able to avoid therapy and just be drug dealers instead. Those are not real doctors (in name only) as they just do what your MD does but instead of the rest that the MD would do like tests and drugs for actual diseases not made up ones they focus on violence instead.
30 years of having the emotions of a zombie and added obstructions of fitting in with society because of DEPERSONALIZATION
30 years of regret and animosity
30 years of no accountability, tossed/reduced lawsuits, and immunity
30 years of political medicine, government irresponsibility, enabling, and corruption
This is not a full list (just a partial one) of 30 YEARS. We've came a long way since then with other drugs similar to this (Abilify [an oxymoron, aripiprazole, Zyprexa [Olanzapine], INVEGA [paliperidone aka Risperdal metabolite], Seroquel [quetiapine])
30 years, THREE DECADES OF THIS, as of today, and is not being stopped challenged or even acknowledged. It only takes one pill to never feel the same again (and it's been that way for 30 years yet it doesn't feel that way because it's not a problem for you from when your born up until that first pill is swallowed) . Yet people around you will continue to pretend that it doesn't exist because it's not their problem until it is. Anyone who even knows better can end up in a social situation where their either forced to take it or coerced. 75% of people quit yet somehow that statistic is not regulated by the FDA because of big pharma donations for years telling people what's unsafe is safe and what's safer is unsafe while partially piggying on taxpayers as well. Children may as well be allowed to smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol and have unprotected sex if we allow this but we do and this is worse than Scientology (lifelong harassment) and possibly comparable to pedophilia. Remember to never get on, once you get off, you'll always be taking it because while the effects fade off slowly overtime you'll always feel like you're taking it because you'll never build enough new neural pathways to overcome the count of prelobotomy. You're memory will go from knowing how to do calculus to not remembering if you wiped your ass or not. If that's the life you want, take it and don't say you weren't warned. Heroin and meth are probably the only illegal drugs that are worse than this so we're talking about cocaine, crack, molly being safer than these psychotics. It's unbelievable that average people who many have never taken before can think something THIS BAD is a good thing and still think they aren't being dehumanizing as a human.
Or you can Delobotimize now - Time isn't enough to get over the ruin
This is a very small list of what you can take. Mexidol - en.mexidol.ru
St. Johns Wort
Activated Carbon
Lions Mane
Vitamin B12
5-HTP
Enough is enough even if it's not THE END
Reposted from my Facebook Status

I'm schizoaffective bipolar type among many other things. My "delusions" are hard to control, because I do inhabit a second reality if not several more, but I don't spend much time thinking about it when I'm doing well. As far as the bipolar, the fluctuation of my moods was pretty well controlled outside of trauma reactions for most of a year and a half. That said, I completely crashed and burned as far as my general stability over the last two years. Last March, I impulsively flew across states to visit my best friend because I needed a break from the overbearingness of my grandparents that I lived with, but I only told my partner and friend, I had my partner tell my grandparents. When I got back I couldn't bring myself to get back to the overbearingness, I had a mental breakdown and went to the crisis ward of the local general hospital. I was completely unable to concentrate or be motivated to do my online graduate schoolwork. I just would stare at the laptop screen entirely checked out.
In September of last year I was hospitalized proper (voluntary) after months of increasing symptoms that not even two antipsychotics (abilify maintena and latuda) could control; what prompted me to check myself in was my entities communicated via a painting that I made that they wanted me to kill myself. They changed the latuda to risperdal. When I skipped the risperdal and did acid in November, I gained a new delusion about having to break reality. But I started taking the risperdal again.
This June I checked myself in again because at that point I was only on abilify. I had asked to be taken off the risperdal around April give or take, because I felt overmedicated. I should not have, in retrospect, been taken off of it completely. I became delusional and started getting internal voice hallucinations, and they were telling me in late June that they would kill me if I went to get my next abilify maintena shot. There I switched to just risperdal. I didn't care for the sedation and in this August started skipping it so I'd have the energy to do my schoolwork. Voices came back by late September. Very little motivation. I don't even remember what else but I went to the crisis center (a different place than the one in the hospital; I moved states, and this crisis center was outpatient) and got put on invega at my request, because I knew it was a metabolite of risperdal and therefore I'd tolerate it, but also hoped it would be less sedating. It's exactly what I hoped it would be. I don't notice it kick in at all it just works. However, they also (still at my request) switched me from cymbalta to prozac. I had been on prozac at least twice before that and knew it helped my anxiety more than cymbalta. I got completely destabilized from the cymbalta withdrawal on top of my slow to recover from negative symptoms. I went to the crisis center a week after the first time and they increased the prozac as well as added ativan. When I needed refills, they said I needed to go in person and it could not be done over the phone. I go there, and get refills as well as a dose increase on the ativan.
No one ever told me it cost nearly $300 usd each visit because my insurance doesn't cover it. I found out when I asked what my balance was where I go for therapy (they are connected to the crisis center). The reason I don't have a psychiatrist is because I'm on their waitlist. I'm looking for a new one because I think I was more emotionally stable on abilify and just want like 5 mg added, not to replace anything. I also want to talk about adjusting the prozac and/or ativan because I have had more anxiety and panic attacks, and panic attacks as well as severe anxiety both make me start thinking of methods to kill myself. But, I'm sure as hell not paying $300 for these things.
In the meantime, since I know a lot of information about psychopharmacology and interactions, a few days ago I decided to take 5 mg abilify that I have left over from earlier this year when I was on both the injection and oral at the same time. I had an amazing day. I kept doing it, this is day 4 or 5. My mood isn't as precarious, I'm less sensitive and easily downtrodden. I don't think it is doing much for the anxiety, but since low moods also trigger suicidal thinking and panic, I'm probably going to keep doing it. I just know I've actively noticed more emotional stability with abilify dose increases in the past, even though no dose fully controlled the psychosis. I never want to experience what happened in the last few months again. I experienced all of psychosis, mania, mixed episode, deep depression all rapid cycling and this going on for like 3 weeks. It was hell, and I'm taking the measure that seems appropriate to me. I hope someone understands.

heroin addicts, "NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) is a natural co-enzyme of Vitamin B3 that is essential to many cellular processes. It is non-addictive and there are no withdrawal symptoms or cravings." https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/655055723/springfield-wellness-center-offers-non-narcotic-alternative-to-medically-assisted-detox
​
"District of Colorado announced that Mile High Psychiatry LLC and its owner, Michael K. Chism, II, have agreed to pay $1.9 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly double-billing time." https://www.justice.gov/usao-co/pcolorado-psychiatry-practice-and-owner-agree-pay-19-million-settle-allegations-0
​
"Inadequate knowledge, lack of confidence and stigmatising attitudes of healthcare professionals (HCPs) may lead to suboptimal care." https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37691420/
​
"Reducing the Length of Stay in a Psychiatric Inpatient Unit and Providing Community Care as an Alternative." https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/070674379704200121?icid=int.sj-abstract.citing-articles.12
​
"Ezra’s lack of a filter and impulsive outbursts (metal forks and bananas are among his triggering mechanisms) have gotten him expelled from more than one school. But when the latest incident has mom Jenna (Byrne) reluctantly agreeing to a doctor’s recommendation that Alex attend a special needs institution and be put on Risperdal." https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/reviews/ezra-review-bobby-cannavale-rose-byrne-and-robert-de-niro-in-a-sensitive-drama-about-the-challenges-of-autism/ar-AA1gz1dd
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"in and out of the Nova Scotia Psychiatric Hospital.
Quon uses Adrianna’s “madness” as an example of this logical unraveling. Adrianna’s psychosis and paranoia were related to her relationship with her mom when she was alive. Thus, they stemmed from an unconscious urge to sort it out." https://atlanticbooks.ca/stories/voices-anna-quon-low-and-the-purpose-of-psychosis/
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"prescription medications can also evoke eyelid twitching — medically referred to as "myokymia" — particularly anti-epileptic drugs...two spasms per second. The blinking subsided one month after the patient stopped taking the drug." risperdal, haldol do that to me. https://www.healthdigest.com/1390822/epilepsy-medication-cause-eyelid-twitch/
​
"Seasonal (Summer) Admission Patterns in First Episode Psychosis, Chronic Schizophrenia, and Nonschizophrenic Psychoses." https://journals.lww.com/jonmd/citation/2001/09000/seasonal_admission_patterns_in_first_episode.12.aspx
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"2 Longview physicians disciplined by Texas Medical Board...requires him to have a chaperone anytime he performs a physical examination on a female patient." https://www.ketk.com/news/local-news/2-longview-physicians-disciplined-by-texas-medical-board/
​
"Inflammation and viral infection as disease modifiers in schizophrenia." https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1231750/abstract
​
conservatorship "petition for Biden states the following as to why he is incapacitated: "The subject exhibits obvious signs of mental confusion and cognitive decline in public. He wanders around confused, stumbles over his words, and has incurred over $4.8 trillion in debt since taking office in 2021. The subject has also involved us in an unwinnable war [in Ukraine]." https://www.newsweek.com/libertarians-want-control-joe-biden-mitch-mcconnell-1826456
​
Short video: Grey's Anatomy (2005) S05E03 Here Comes the Flood, "antipsychotic medications with no success." https://www.getyarn.io/yarn-clip/4c51f41a-c374-4436-8dd0-080ebb1b9c87
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September 12 6:07 PM steven told me what I can wear. mother said he's wrong.
​

Ok!!! English is not my first language so please... Be good on me! :'3
I wanted to come here because my words might help people to connect with some source of strength/hope(?) I send you a hug, you are not alone... I know withdrawal is an experience that can make you feel left out, but It will not be the end! I remember myself reading a lot of stories and being EXTREMELY SCARED about me being damaged forever and ending my own life eventually... But! Wow! It's amazing how things can change, you know??? :'D
Quit Risperdal and Tegretol cold turkey in October last year, I had to take them again because withdrawal was HELL! T-T However, I was rebellious and I focused on quit them them again reducing the dosage/intake ( not sure if these two words are the right ones??? Lol. But I think you get what I mean, right?) every two weeks. Quit Risperdal again In January this year! And Tegretol in February(this year too) if I'm not mistaken. Yes... Maybe everything too rushed but no as rushed as the first time!
Things really started to get better in April this year when I started to feel more energy, more hope,more pleasure towards things .
I started to feel this desire for connecting again with my old hobbies/ activities! And everything has been getting better. I can enjoy music again and it feels amazing!! It's like being born again somehow, it's another chance of living!!! :"D
I even fell in love with someone and I felt all those beautiful sensations intensely, but oh... I idealized that person and it's not the right person for me( I think that I might have gotten too excited about feeling alive again and meeting someone so cool awakened my imagination and fantasizes related to love, but auch... )... So lately I have been pretty melancholic because of that whickh is kinda "funny" because my head thinks : "oh, you survived withdrawal and now you are suffering a lot because of love". Thinking about withdrawal and making a comparison with my actual situation gives me hope because it's thinking about me being alive even if I'm sad because some beautiful and passionate expectations weren't fulfilled.
So guys, things can get better!! I have been like an emotional rollercoaster( playful laugh), but that's so much better than me feeling like a zombie who wanted to disappear for good.
Hope, hope, hope for you!
PD: I know this thread might sound too cheesy or something like that , but... Common, it has a good intention !! :'p

Just wow, I’ve been on abilify for like a month and just started getting some involuntary movements several hours ago. What a nightmare. At first I thought maybe it was just a tremor but as I tried to go to sleep later on it happened on more of my body. I had an antipsychotic in high school (risperdal) also induce involuntary movements quickly (from my understanding it usually takes a long time to occur) but those were on my face. I was getting so much better it kind of is a nightmare thinking about how my future looks when I stop taking it / the withdrawal. I’m just in awe like why does my body have to suck lik this. And now I have to worry about the withdrawal, I can’t sleep I’m so anxious. I’m def done with this class of meds after this, and I just finished my PHP program so I’m not even seeing that doctor anymore 🤦‍♂️

Just wow, I’ve been on abilify for like a month and just started getting some involuntary movements several hours ago. What a nightmare. At first I thought maybe it was just a tremor but as I tried to go to sleep later on it happened on more of my body. I had an antipsychotic in high school (risperdal) also induce involuntary movements quickly (from my understanding it usually takes a long time to occur) but those were on my face. I was getting so much better it kind of is a nightmare thinking about how my future looks when I stop taking it / the withdrawal. I’m just in awe like why does my body have to suck lik this. And now I have to worry about the withdrawal, I can’t sleep I’m so anxious. I’m def done with this class of meds after this, and I just finished my PHP program so I’m not even seeing that doctor anymore 🤦‍♂️

I’ve been on 10mg for about a year and a half now and before that I was on risperdal for about 6 months following a severe episode of psychosis.
I’ve been stable ever since, but am still unsure of the underlying cause of my psychosis. I smoked a lot at the time but the episode was also followed by a lack of sleep and having covid. I’ve had psychiatrists diagnose me with Bipolar 1 but others say it could have been caused from the smoking, so I’m still unsure if I’d ever have a relapse (I’ve since quit smoking).
My problem with abilify has been weight gain. I’ve gained 30 pounds since leaving the hospital, and that number is slowly increasing. I’m ready to get off but am worried about the withdrawal symptoms. I’m going to talk to my doctor about it but I wanted to hear about other experiences quitting abilify first.
I’m most concerned about having another episode or not being able to function for a long period of time because of the physical side effects.

I’ve never had a mixed episode before but from what I’ve read from googling I think that’s what’s happening to me, it’s been going on since late June. I was hospitalized for 8 days (just got out a few days ago) but they were just warehousing me and didn’t offer any help or support while there so I’m really hoping my psychiatrist will actually be helpful.
Basically I’m depressed as shit but I constantly need to be doing things. I’m cleaning, organizing, compulsively writing constantly, dancing, it’s all very overwhelming but I want to do even more. I’m thinking twice at once and all the thoughts are negative and hurtful. I can’t sleep but once I’m in bed I have a hard time getting up in the morning because I just can’t start this shit all over. I’m crying. Withdrawing from everyone. I feel so paranoid, especially around the doctors who saw me in the hospital like why did they want me to suffer like this? I’m having multiple panic attacks a day, crying a ton. But the energy! I’m so antsy similar to when I’m hypomanic. It’s hell. I’m in hell.
What am I supposed to do? Does this actually sound like a mixed episode or am I way off base here? What do psychiatrists do to treat them typically, like is there anything that might help? I’m on lamictal, topamax, and risperdal right now. I don’t want to go back to the hospital so I’m trying my best.

i’m on risperdal and have been for about 2 years, trying to get off of it bc of sleepiness/numbness/sexual dysfunction. tried vraylar recently and felt like my muscles were tensing up, couldn’t sleep at night, overly anxious and crying through the day. trying again with geodon and experiencing the same exact thing. am i just experiencing withdrawal from risperdal or does anyone have similar experiences with trying to switch?

Hi there! (28m, Bipolar I)
About two months ago I started Vraylar. All was well. However; once it reached peak plasma levels my life went to s. I was absolutely miserable. My stimulant medication wasn’t working at all. I couldn’t be happy no matter how hard I tried. *Vraylar snuffed out all that passion, fire, and love that makes me, me.
So; being the genius that I think I am, I cold turkeyed Vraylar. For two weeks things went smoothly - it has a half-life of 21 days; making withdrawal easy, or so I read - and I experienced joy again. I was happy. And happy. And then I got happier. And then I stopped sleeping.
You can guess where that went. Thankfully, my dad intervened on day 3. He forced me to call my doctor and admit to what I did. My doctor prescribed me Risperdal of 1mg in the morning and 1mg in the evening as a band-aid as he put it until I see him on the 28th, eight days from now.
Now, I have a love-hate relationship with Risperdal. I was forced to take it in a mental ward in 2021. While it helped alongside Lithium to bring me out of psychosis, the weight gain terrified me.
I have been anorexic since I was 19. I manage it very well these days, but antipsychotics scare me for the weight gain they are known to cause. But at the same time, I love them. Not the newer fancy ones like Vraylar or Abilify. Those just make me feel controlled and wipe away emotion. I’m talking about more basic antipsychotics such as Risperdal, Zyprexa, or Seroquel.
I love how they shut my mind down at the end of the day. How they stop all the racing thoughts, the endless parade of memories and fears.
To wrap this up; I’m going to ask my doctor if I may stay on Risperdal. Does anyone have any advice on how to avoid weight gain? My partner and I are already beginning to eat better. I get a lot of exercise at work, thankfully. But is there anything else - any other tips you guys can give me? Supplements? That sort of thing?
Please do, I need this medication because I desperately need to get this disorder under control and Risperdal is the key.

When they put me on the pill form I intend to wean off slow, even though I'll be in college. I'll just cut off a 4th of the dose per month or less and hopefully my psychiatrist won't notice. I tried going off these drugs before and had a bad reaction because I went off them too fast. Now I'm on court order committal and scared to death about the sheriff showing up. Hopefully I won't have a bad reaction to going off. I was mostly fine with Risperdal except I was like where did all my freaking dopamine go??? Hopefully abilify isn't too icky withdrawal wise

Are we ready for Storytime? Cool. Let's have a Storytime.
My personal medical & mental health odyssey, since 2001, has been dominated by a singular event. My LDS mission in Maracaibo Venezuela.
Before I dive into it, here is some basic info about Mania. Mania, is a state of being in an elevated high-energy mental state, typically for weeks or longer at a time. Hypomania, by contrast is when the same occurs for a lesser period of time, such as days.
While commonly associated with Bipolar disorder, Mania can in fact, be caused by other environmental factors. Environmental factors such as:

• High levels of stress
• Changes in sleep patterns or lack of sleep
• Using recreational drugs or alcohol
• Seasonal changes – for example, some people are more likely to experience hypomania and mania in spring
• A significant change in your life, such as moving house or going through a divorce
• Childbirth – see our page on postpartum psychosis for more information
• Loss or bereavement
• Trauma and abuse
• Difficult life conditions – for example, problems with money, housing or loneliness
• As a side effect of medication
• As a symptom of a physical illness or neurological condition
• Family history – if you have a family member who experiences bipolar moods, you are more likely to experience mania or hypomania

Anyone who's ever been on an LDS mission can tell you, that being a missionary checks off quite a few of those boxes. So with that in mind, my story can begin.
I am on the Autism spectrum & have ADHD. I was undiagnosed at the time, but needless to say, I didn't have a strong social toolkit for dealing with neurotypicals when I went on my mission. Compounding matters, was the fact that I was sent to the Spanish speaking Maracaibo Venezuela mission in 2001. So not only did I have crazy culture shock, but I was also forced to socialized with Neurotypical (NT) Utah elders, and had no idea on how to do so successfully, being an Neurodivergent (ND) from Northern New York.
So let's put a huge-ass check on "difficult life conditions" as yes, I was alone in a crowd, so to speak at the time. The mission itself expected us to be preaching about 60 hours a week, so we can definitely check off "High level of stress". Changes in sleep patterns? Super check. My MTC group had the honor of being the first group allowed to wake up at 6:30 AM rather than 6 AM. Seasonal changes? Super check. I'm from NNY. We have a 5 to 7-months of snowy weather per year. Maracaibo, on the other hand, has two seasons. "Hot summer" and "Hellish summer". Significant change in my life such as moving? I did that every few weeks as an elder. Extra super-duper check. Not to mention the whole culture shock thing. Loss or Bereavement? You betcha. I lost my entire world in one go. Trauma and abuse? Extra check. The mission itself is inherently abusive. High levels of stress? Goes without saying.
In other words, even in SNAFU conditions (Situation normal, all fucked up) missionary service is a literal incubator for manic situations. It of course hits some people more than others, due to various other factors, but inherently, missionary service is objectively a high risk factor for developing manic symptoms.
And then, on top of all that. I caught a goddamn tropical disease, and lost visible weight in three days. I was probably hypomanic, or manic before that point, truth be told. After that point, well. I was full on psychotic. I suppose that needs a sperate bit of medical explanation. Our current understanding of how psychotic & delusional & schizophrenic medications work, was based on the observation that many of these mental health conditions are nearly indistinguishable from the symptoms of taking too much speed. Once that link was discovered, many anti-psychotic meds were developed, that (more or less) functioned largely by acting as a downer, to reverse manic states, and by extension, pull people out of delusional psychotic states.
So with that in mind, is it any wonder, that when I was manic already, that tropical disease pushed me over the edge, into full on insanity?
I was in that state over a month. Stark raving mad. Working a 60+ hour workweek, in the hot deadly Venezuelan sun. In what was simultaneously a politically unstable 3rd world nation, and the nation with the 6th highest violent crime rate in the world at the time. I was malnourished. Overstressed isn't even the word for it.
And then, I got scared, and ran away from my comp for a day. And on top of all that, became even more stressed, even more malnourished, and dehydrated. Went from being mildly psychotic, to majorly psychotic, and three quarters dead in the span of a day.
Got sent home after that. But my doctors..... Well they ignored all of the above context. And put me on some rather nasty pills, known as Remeron and Haloperidol. As you might imagine from my description of how typical anti-psychotics work, these pills, individually and in combination, were basically tranquillizers.
For years, my nickname became "Sleepy" Life was living death. However, I persevered, my psychotic symptoms lessened, and I was weaned off both meds.
Unbeknownst to me at the time, anti-psychotics are a perhaps the most dangerous class of drugs to wean off of. Quite ironically, one of the major withdrawal symptoms of Haloperidol is manic symptoms, and rebounding, and more intense psychotic symptoms.
Did my doctors pay any attention to the consequences of taking me off those pills?
Nope! I was told that the mania and psychosis I experienced when I got off those pills meant I was schizophrenic, and would likely need to be on pills for the rest of my natural life.
My new cocktails? Risperdal, Effexor, Singular, Benztropine. The important one to pay attention to there, is Risperdal. Risperdal is the one that makes CIS men grow breasts and lactate. My asshole doctor went years without giving me the blood tests that were recommended monthly while on that pill. When I finally got one, he asked me if I could lactate, because my prolactin levels were higher than a pregnant woman's.
So I was switched from Risperdal, to Abilify. What a change! My sex drive turned back on! I had a second puberty in my late 20's! Very fun (not really) As I grew progressively more capable, and able tto intellectually and emotionally function (at all) I decided enough was enough, and weaned off all my meds, AMA, which happened to line up with my leaving the LDS faith.
Silly me. wanna know what one of the withdrawal effects of Abilify is? Mania! a So on top of leaving a toxic faith, and getting rid of toxic doctors, I had to put up with yet more goddamn manic episode.
Fun fact: Mania isn't just trying to do everything all at once. Mania can also turn into irritability and rage. Stack on top of that the heaps of abuse that my church, and parents had heaped on me, and well, I was a bit of an angry asshole at the time, to put it mildly.
And yes. My good old friend, mania induced psychosis popped up again. Another trip to the psych ward. Another misdiagnosis. My mania was such, that I was misdiagnosed with Bipolar disorder, and given Depakote.
Depakote, is an instant old age pill. It'll kill you to stay on, and will destroy you if you get it off wrong, and it'll take months to recover even if you get off of it right. It's a rather nasty pill. I got off it as quickly as I could, but yeah, you guessed it. Depakote withdrawal also includes agitation and irritability.
For the longest time, I thought that the angry asshole I was, when I left the church, and the not-great things I did and said to friends and family on the way out was a choice. Turns out I was wrong. It wasn't a choice. It was literally a chain of dominos, that started with my mission, and was carried along by a successive string of literally incompetent doctors, none of which who could be bothered to pay attention to the chain of events as a whole.
And yes. During the whole process, my parents, and my doctors kept telling me that I was the broken one. That I was the one in the wrong. That they knew what was best. It turns out, that it was the other way around. They were breaking me, and blaming me for being broken. Trying to take accountability for what they had done to me, tore me apart. Destroyed my sense of self confidence, and self worth, from the inside out.
I'm 41. I'm still living with the repercussions of all of the above. I'll never stop really, at least not till the day I die anyways. I'm starting to make peace with it somewhat. Because holy fuck. At no point, in the entire process, was my agency respected. At no point in the process was my human rights respected. Between the church, and my asshole doctors prescribing pills like they were candy, at no point was I fully and truly responsible for the state of my mind and body, because fun fact. Our brains are just big computers, with a lot of chemistry in them. The church and my doctors robbed me of control over the chemistry end, and decisions I made that I thought that were fully my own, weren't actually. I still feel guilt for the parts that were in my control of course. I won't ever stop feeling that. But at least now, knowing what I know, I know that a lot of that, was not me. Not things I had chosen. It was things, the church, and my shitty doctors chose for me. And that helps.
I'm not going to lie. It took me decades to figure all of this out. Hopefully, some young people can read my story, and realize how much agency the church stole from them, and use that information to improve their mental health, and sense of self-worth. Hopefully.

Im stopping my biweekly risperdal injections which i took for 1.5 years. I want to know when im getting injection withdrawals how would you taper risperdal with pills Anyone have a step by step guide?