I am not a doctor, shaman or healer. Nothing on this site should be construed as medical advice.

If you are suicidal, or you are planning to hurt yourself or anyone else, please call 911 or a suicide hotline in your area:

In the United States

In Canada

Please DO NOT attempt to stop taking psychiatric medication, including antidepressants, on your own. It is not only dangerous, but potentially deadly. I'm tempted to justify my own decision, but I can't. I was incredibly lucky.

Please don't take that risk.

If your current doctor isn't supportive, look for one who is (an increasing number of cities and towns have Buddhist psychiatrists. If you can find one, they may be able to offer both medical and spiritual guidance).

We have to be alive in order to focus on being in the present. Staying alive is the first step, whatever it takes.

I can't say what's right or wrong for anyone else. All I can do is share my experience. When I stopped taking daily meds, I made a deal with myself that, if I ever thought I might hurt myself, I would take .125mg of clonazepam. And a couple of times, when I went completely 'underwater' and wasn't able to remember a toolkit existed (much less how to use it), that's exactly what I did. It was just enough to help me find my toolkit-and my footing.

There's nothing that says you have to choose between medication and mindfulness. There's no prerequisite for any of these practices. They meet you where you are, and I began doing several of them years before I went off medication.

May you be happy and free, with or without medication.