First Post

For 37 years, I did exactly what I was told.
“Take one, four times a day for anxiety.”
And I did — faithfully, consistently, without question.

I trusted the doctors.
I trusted the system.
I trusted the idea that these psychiatric potions were the answer to my pain, my fear, my overload, and the emotional storms I’ve carried since childhood.

No one ever told me what long-term use could do.
No one ever explained withdrawal.
No one ever warned me about dependence, tolerance, or interactions.
I thought I was doing the responsible thing — the safe thing — by following instructions.

For decades, that’s all I did.

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When the Symptoms Started, They Gave Me More

Over the last 10 years, my body began speaking a language no one around me seemed to understand:

• Heart palpitations
• Stomach problems
• Crying easily
• Depression
• Fear
• Crushing exhaustion

Instead of asking why, the doctors added more prescriptions — one to “fix” each new symptom the others created.

By the end, I was on six medications, all interacting with each other.
When I finally researched them myself, the drug-to-drug interaction warnings were marked high risk.

And still — no one had ever told me.

I wasn’t abusing anything.
I wasn’t taking more than prescribed.
I was doing exactly what I had been instructed to do for decades.

I followed like a sheep because I trusted them.
Because I didn’t know any other way.

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Then My Body Broke

Over the last two years, I’ve had three strokes and two seizures.
All while taking the medications exactly as prescribed.

Not partying.
Not misusing.
Not doubling doses.
Just following orders.

The last seizure was on October 22, 2025 — a date etched into my body now.

I never imagined the medications I trusted for so long could be contributing to the damage.

But they were.
And no one told me.

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This Isn’t Just My Story

Here’s the part most people don’t know:

1 in 4 Americans — roughly 77 million people — are taking a psychiatric drug.
And over 80% of them are long-term users.

Not because they’re addicted.
Not because they’re reckless.
But because they took the medication exactly as prescribed.

They followed directions.
They trusted the process.
And most were never warned about the consequences.

Stats sources:
• IQVIA prescription tracking data
• JAMA Internal Medicine analysis (summarized by TIME)

My story could be anyone’s story.
Millions are living some version of this without ever realizing why their bodies are breaking down, why new symptoms appear every year, why they never feel well, or why tapering feels impossible.

We were never given informed consent.
We were given instructions.
And we obeyed — sometimes for decades.

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I’m Still in the Middle of This Fight

I’m facing another health challenge right now — one I didn’t expect, and definitely didn’t choose.

But I believe I’ll get through it.
Not because I’m strong on my own, but because God’s grace has carried me through every other storm in my life.

And because the people who love me have never stopped believing in me.

I’m sharing this now because silence serves no one, especially not the ones still trapped in the same system I spent 37 years trusting.

If you’re willing, please keep me in your prayers.
Your encouragement means more than you know.

This time, I’m telling the whole truth —
for me,
for my daughter,
and for anyone who needs to know they aren’t alone,
aren’t crazy,
and aren’t imagining the damage these psychiatric potions can cause over time.

My mission has expanded — just a little — but with more clarity, more courage, and more conviction than ever before.

With God’s grace, I’m not done yet.