Category: mental health
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My head hurts #10: Wading Through Treacle
My visits to the surgery feel as though I’m an actor in a long-running play. I’m one of the crowd with a few lines; my doctor is the lead.
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My head hurts #9: A Year of Antidepressant Withdrawal
It’s a year and four days since I stopped taking Amitriptyline. I expected it to be tough, but I hadn’t realised quite how unpleasant it would be.
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My Head Hurts #8: Stopping Work
At about 5 pm on Thursday, I shut down my laptop on the day’s work for the very last time, or so I imagine.
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My Head Hurts #7: Seven Months and Counting
In the seventh post in the series is an update of the last few months of antidepressant withdrawal syndrome and how I’m feeling now.
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My Head Hurts #6: Staying Positive
In what could be an outtake from a bad episode of Star Trek, I’m talking to my Mac, trying to find the form of words that will persuade it to add punctuation to my latest blog post. I have tried the dictation in the past, but whatever magic Apple has worked in the interim, it’s…
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My Head Hurts #5: A Night of Antidepressant Withdrawal
It’s Sunday morning. I can’t see the clock, but I can tell it’s late.I try not to move a muscle. It’s the sort of game you play when you’re six, not sixty. I took some ibuprofen at about 7:30 this morning, and it’s beginning to wear off.
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My Head Hurts #4: The Side Effects
I finally stopped taking the Amitriptyline three months ago, with my final dose of 2 mg. My symptoms haven’t changed significantly since last month; except for the bouts of pain/ache/restlessness, which are far worse.
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My Head Hurts #3: Antidepressant Withdrawal Pain
Have you thought about why some people, often young women, are driven to cut themselves? Taking a blade and deliberately cutting into your own flesh seems so counter to everything we think of as normal. I find it difficult to comprehend.
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My Head Hurts #2: Antidepressant withdrawal update
I gave up not trying to look at the clock, in the middle of the night, weeks ago. I’d read that not knowing the time helps you to get back to sleep. So, I can tell you it’s 3.38 am on Saturday 2 August 2025.
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My Head Hurts: Reducing Antidepressants
I’m trying not to look at the clock. It’s still dark; early June in the UK, so maybe 3-4 am? The next thing that comes into my mind are the drugs. In the last six months, I’ve probably spent more time thinking about the drugs than anything else.