To be or not to be on psychmeds

JANUARY 6, 2015BYMONICA CASSANI

Update October, 2015 #MedicatedandMightycontinues to

rage on TwitterIm trying to mostly avoid it because people
arereally getting nasty regardless of what their stance isstill
I like to encourage dialogue instead of conflicthere is a
piece I wrote a while agoits always been appreciated by a
large spectrum of folks both on and off meds. See also this
post inspired by the that hashtag:Consider the possibility that
sensitive folks are not mentallyill

The theme here:Everyone has a reason that makes a lot of

sense in the context of their life experience for the positions
that they hold about these issues. I suggest we widen our
hearts to recognize this fact. And that its possible to come to
terms with our experience in the context of our lives in such a
way we no longer feel the need to try to force others to our
point of view because we come to recognize there are many
legitimate points of view.

Update 1/2015 Im reposting this article as its message

needs to be said again. Below the article is a collection of
posts that discuss the gray zones. The fact that context
matters and that our personal experiences are all legitimate
and that we all have the right to interpret our experience in the
ways that make sense to us. To respect one another means
allowing for this. To respect one another means not imposing
our beliefs on others, no matter how dearly held. To respect
one another means to live and let live.

For everyone caught in the middle and on both ends too

I often stop and wonder about the spectrum of readers this

blog draws. I have readers who are interested in mental
health and wellbeing whove never taken a drug, nor have
they ever been subjected to any sort of coercive psychiatric
care. I have friends and readers who take meds willingly,
understanding that for them at this point of their individual,
personal, idiosyncratic journeys it makes sense for them to do
this. I have readers who take meds but really do not want to.
They have not found meaningful supports that allow them to
find a way to be free of them. Then there are readers who
have been on meds but have freed themselves from them.
Among those readers is a huge spectrum as well. Some were
coerced and traumatized in the system. Others, didnt have
terribly traumatic experiences, but they understand that for
them medications were not a long-term solution. I also have
readers who were coerced and traumatized and harmed who
cannot free themselves from the drugs and who have
admirably and painfully come to terms with this reality. I am
actually in a bit of awe of such people. They do not know what
the future holds but they know that for now this is what is best
for them. And they move forward like we all do in the
unknown. Watching life unfold.

Oh, and I do also, have readers who are grateful for what
drugs did for them. Yes. Some of these folks are still taking
psych drugs and others have come off when they no longer
felt the need for that support. They understand that a dialogue
with all of the players must be had and appreciatethe
perspective I have to offer as one of the many folks
whove been gravely harmed by psych drugs.

The fact is I hold a space for every single one of these folks.
Our journeys are long and complex and individual. I was on
drugs for over 20 years. I hold a space for who I was all those
20 years. If I did not I would be a self-loathing hypocrite.

It seems that on occasion there are people who imagine I am

somehow demanding that people not take meds. I also can
only assume these folks feel threatened by my message. I
speak to a particular audience of people whom can generally
hold a lot of uncomfortable tensions because, frankly, life is
messy and its pretty much never straight-forward. I also
speak from my experience. Psychiatric drugs pretty near killed
me. Im kind of passionate about that fact. That I know it can
happen and that it happens everyday. I know about the harm
these drugs can cause. I know it personally and I have now
worked with 1000s directly and indirectly all over the world
who have been gravely harmed. As long as this information is
largely denied by those who prescribe psychiatric drugs, I do
feel I have a responsibility to let it be known what can happen
when these drugs are used the way they are most frequently
being used today.

Those readers of mine who find they need to stay on psych

drugs after trying to free themselves recognize, with that
uncomfortable tension that, perhaps, the reason they have to
stay on them is because theyve been harmed by them. This
doesnt change their reality today at this juncture in time. (It
also does not predict the future.) They know that had they
been offered meaningful alternatives at the beginning that
they might not be in the predicament they find themselves. Do
I judge them for making the only choice, in the context of their
reality today, that makes sense? God no. I admire them.

Then the folks who are not my regular readers but who are
horrified by my message. People who value psych drugs to
the exclusion of all other possibilities of potentially profound
healing. They are terrified that everyone will come off their
drugs right NOW even though I never ever have once told
anyone to come off their drugs. Ever. And I never will.Its
utterly and critically important that people know what
they are doing when they come off psych drugsand that
they have appropriate supports. There are many good
reasons to NOT come off drugs now, in very many instances.
There are simply not appropriate supports available all too
often at this juncture in time. We need to change that, of
course. These folks dont understand that if the system
actually incorporated sane withdrawal protocols complete with
trained physicians (both are non-existent now) it could create
safe space for people to discuss the subject openly that
disasters of sudden withdrawal and decompensation would
largely be eliminated. So for these folks who dont
understand all the complexities of my message, I have great
compassion because they are terrified. Its awful being
terrified like that. And given the nature of the mental health
system today, its frankly understandable.

I also have great compassion for those on the opposite end of

that controlling spectrum. Those who do think everyone
should come off their drugs right now. Many of these folks,
like me, were gravely harmed by drugs. Same issue. Fear.
Terror. Again, very understandable.

Basically in their fear such people want to control others so

that they are not traumatized the way they themselves have
been. There is some genuine concern for others in their
actions. Its hard for them, in their fear, to imagine that
completely other pathways are possible that sometimes
incorporate aspects of the very things they are terrified of
but that will have different outcomes in different contexts with
different people.

Can you see a theme here? Everyone has a reason that

makes a lot of sense in the context of their life experience for
the positions that they hold about these issues. I suggest we
widen our hearts to recognize this fact. And that its possible
to come to terms with our experience in the context of our
lives in such a way we no longer feel the need to try to force
others to our point of view because we come to recognize
there are many legitimate points of view.

Still, if someone gets coercive, inflexible and dogmatic,

whether they are predominantly pro-med or anti-med you can
be sure that fear is at the bottom of that. Fear is dangerous
and it doesnt matter what side its coming from. Many times
the way this fear is expressed is with aggression and hostility
towards others who might be indiscriminately perceived to be
similar to those whove harmed them or their loved ones. I
want to make a distinction here. Anger is a normal, human
response that holds information for us. Aggression and
hostility projected at others is most often misdirected,
however. There are exceptions to this. Im writing generally
now. In any case I feel strongly that even in more extreme
situations anger can be clean and non-violent (again, there
are exceptions to this too). I strive for skillful application of
anger in my life. Anger in the name of justice is totally
necessary. Nothing would ever happen in the name of
progress in society if it werent for anger at injustice. I am not
demonizing anger. Anger is part of our emotional heritage and
its very important to be in touch with anger. Fully conscious of
it. Its vitally important if we want to become whole and
congruent with our deepest self. See: The anger and rage
collection: what we dont engage we cannottransform

Ultimately the only thing that marks a mature human being is

not whether they are on drugs or they are not on drugs, but
are they consciously moving through life with integrity,
congruency and alignment with all that lives. Doing that is
every individuals task and how they go about getting there is
never going to look the same. We cannot know what others
need to learn or how they are going to learn it. The most we
can do is allow. Allow for the great diversity of humanity.

What I know now, is that every step of my journey has been

valuable to me, even the drugged years. It was not until I
could embrace and accept everything, good and bad in my life
that I was able to have some peace in my being. I would not
know what I know now if I hadnt been drugged all those
years. I would not know what I know now had I not been a
social worker in the very toxic mental health system. That was
my schooling. It made me. I can now help people make safer,
healthier choices for having lived through all of that. I have
often said I know things I wish I didnt know, but I do know
them and so I must do what I do. This is how progress
happens. This is how in some weird way, all is okay. All is
good. Life is somehow ordered and lovely even in the chaos.

This doesnt mean we sit back and do nothing. It does mean

we continue to wake up and become who we are in the
deepest sense and help others do that too.

Force and coercion has no place in that regardless of what

our beliefs are. Everyone has a different path.

I conceived of this post as a message to those still on meds

who understand the big picture because frankly, I think being
in the middle of what is a sort of maelstrom is the hardest
place to behaving the great anti and pro med forces coming
at you from all sides is not easy thing to come to terms with
for any of us, frankly. So I see that people who are still taking
medications, for whatever reason but doing it consciously and
reading this blog too are truly to be admired. They are truly
grappling with the issues and that to me indicatesintegrity,
congruency and alignment with their deepest selves. That is
all that the process of waking up and becoming aware
requires.

***

Many things that seem contradictory are simultaneously true.

That is the nature of paradox and the nature of reality. We all
within ourselves hold contradictory thoughts, feelings and
beliefs as well. Maturity and wellbeing, is in part, a coming to
terms with this.

***

People would prefer taking a fixed stance on most issues

rather than grapple with nuance. Its far easier and takes little
thought to be dogmatic.

Approaching people with inflexibility tends to be met with

inflexibility. Thats a non-starter if we want actual dialogue.

If we want to be heard we have to be willing to listen.

***

Somatic mysticism: reframing

hypersensitivity
JULY 24, 2016BYMONICA CASSANI

More musing from the past few days.Anyone who has ever
been called too sensitive might appreciate some of this.

Ive recently been drawn to the term somatic mysticism

because I feel everything deeply in my body. I can feel my
cells doing their work quite often and I feel all manner of
metabolic movement and I feel far more than I can even begin
to really know from a biological standpoint. Still when I listen
and pay attention I collect data, information to act on. With
this info I continue to heal and become (consciously) one with
all that is.

From an article I found that mentions somatic mysticism this

quote:

Thich Nhat Hanh said, What we most need to do is to hear

within us the sounds of the Earth crying.

And yes, I hear the earth and all its sentient beings as well as
the plants and all that is animated. I feel it alland am only
just beginning to discern my intelligent and grounded place in
the midst of it all.

The brain injury that bared my nervous system made it

impossible for me to do anything but feel it all and figure out
how to navigate itthus the gift in that which almost killed me.

Johanna Macys work speaks to this quite beautifully:

On Staying Sane in a SuicidalCulture

Transforming despair

***

The somatic imperative andmeditation

Most of my deep meditations still happen while lying down.

This remains necessary because the somatic experience
remains far too intense to otherwise tolerate sitting.

In order to profoundly allow and experience the healing

process (by relaxing deeply into it) the body must be
horizontal and completely and progressively more relaxed.
This allows the nervous system to continue healing from
thesevere psych drug injuries, while the psyche too seems to
moreeasily integrate splits and sub-personalities etc.

Among other things this process seems to also be a deeply

rejuvenative cellular healing process. These such meditations
come upon me and I must submit to them. I call this
necessary response the somatic imperative.
The somatic imperative expresses itself in my life in many
different ways as well, not just during meditation.The body
knowsand the somatic imperative is a sort ofGPS guidance
systemin general.

One might consider the imperative to lie down for such a

meditation process to be a symptom of illness. I find that to be
a gross misunderstanding of what is really, instead, a
requirement for HEALING.

I meditate 24/7 in some regard and, thus, I do what my body/

mind needs right NOW. Often these days I am called to deep
cellular regeneration while lying down. Meditation can
certainly happen and ultimately will happen in any and all
positions.

***

My body is a barometer for total integrity, I am literally

sickened if I go off even a wee bitsometimes its a major
pain in the ass (no doubt). More and more often, however I
come to deeply appreciate what is truly a gift that allows for
complete healing and thus a coming into alignment with life-
force.

It was the complete denial of the body and hence the toxic
poisoning it was subjected to via psychiatry that led to this
the only way to heal was to completely surrender to finding
the body once againIm hereand this is it.

***

Those who have the privilege to know have the

 duty toact
JULY 3, 2014BYMONICA CASSANI

This post comes from having writtenthis status update on

Facebook.It pretty much took on a life of its own and created
a small drama on the page.

Some people seem to feel very threatened by peoples

personal experiences and stories if they differ from their
ownit makes it very difficult for folks with such experience to
talk about what has happened to them. Thats not okay.
Those of us whove identified psychiatric drugs and/or
treatment as having been very destructive to our lives and
well-being are often in this position. Many folks feel
comfortable doing whatever they can to silence us. Ive been
told that sharing my story is actually a form of recklessness.

Today I saw this quote by Albert Einstein:

Those who have the privilege to know have the duty to

act. Albert Einstein

Ive often said I wish I didnt know what I know, but given that I
do know it I cannot unknow it. I so I do what I can toeducate
people to the reality of so many people being gravely harmed
while society denies that its happening.

And in response to those who mock folks who feel that drugs
have helped them In order to practice what I preach, when
someone does feel theyve been helped, I choose to respect
that as their truth just as I want people to respect and hear
mine. And Ive come to see that its truesome people find
ways to make such intervention work for them.I am totally
good with that.

Sadly these wordsled to my needing to post the below status

update since some of my Facebook visitorsdont share my
concern and took it upon themselves to be unpleasant to
some folks who said drugs had been or were helpful to them.
(I also deleted some rude comments prior to making this
statement):

Belittling anothers interpretation of their personal

experience because it doesnt make sense to you is a
form of abuse. Stop it. If you do it on this page you will be
banned. If people get rude to anyone on this page they will
be banned. And I wont give any warning. DO NOT BE
RUDE TO OTHERS WHO HAVE A DIFFERENT
EXPERIENCE THAN YOU DO.

and then in response to someone who insisted that the

DRUGS ARE ALWAYS BAD mantra is a black and white
issue with no shades of grey and that my making that
boundary was being co-dependent (and worse),I said:

The truth is far more mysterious than that (its not black
and white)and not respecting where someone is doesnt
help them. I know people whove used psych meds in a
way that unfolded safely for them. Period. That doesnt
erase what Ive experienced and witnessed among those
of us who have been harmed. If you are rude,
disrespectful or condescending this page becomes unsafe
and you will not be welcome. Thats all.

and then:

this blog and page is LOADED with infoI trust anyone

here is here because they are exploring thetruth and
working on coming to understand themselvesI dont
need to shoveanythingdown their throatsand if
anyone else tries too, yes, they wont be here long.

I deeply respect peoples individual journeys. They dont

always make sense from the outside perhaps they rarely
do, really. Just like our journeys didnt make sense to a lot of
people outside of our lives. See:Many paths (as many as
there arebeings)

I practicelistening and learning from my fellow human beings

in a deeply non-coercive way. I dont believe I have any right
to tell another human being what to do with their own body/
mind/spirit.Imagining our experience should be projected
onto another human being, seems to me to be a form of
violence. Overcomingthat habit seems to be fundamental to
having basic respect.

Anywaythat was part of my hectic day yesterday. not a

whole lot of funboundaries, boundaries, and staying
healthy.

***
Nature vs nurture, biological vs. psychological:
how about both/and rather thaneither/or
DECEMBER 10, 2014BYMONICA CASSANI

The subject of biological vs. psychological and nature vs.

nurture came up in one of my professional email groups. I
responded to the topic with the below thoughts which have
been slightly edited for this blog.

Here it is:

I see all aspects of being human as existing on spectrums of

sorts. All these spectrums interact with each other so that
experience is like a kaleidoscope perhapsendlessly varied
from human being to human being and even within the life of
asolo human beingno moment is ever repeatedwe are
new in that way in every instant.

We cannot ever know all the ingredients that come together to

make this or that human being the way they areand for me
this is part of the great mystery of lifewe all partake and
make the best of it.

Ive actually written a very brief post that contains this same
idea. Its using somewhat different language. Ill cut and paste
it below.

Youll see I dont particularly like either/or thinkingits more

like both/andmore inclusion rather than less

Everything Matters
When it comes to wellbeing (mental and physical) and
prevention of illness too many people will do anything they
can to avoid the truth.

EVERYTHING matters. The body you were born with. The

body you have today. Your relationships with others and the
planet, the food you eat, and the air you breath. how often
you move your body and the thoughts you nurture in your
mind and soul.

That is what understanding ourselves as holistic beings

entails. Understanding our relationship to EVERYTHING in
our environment, what were born with and how its all
connected. Its not some sort of new age hogwash. Its just
plain and simple reality.

***

Psych drugs kill vs Psych drugs save lives.

What if both aretrue?
MAY 24, 2014BYMONICA CASSANI

Sometimes I happen upon folks talking about the work on this

blog when Im out and about on the internets. The other day
for example I found a google group full of people who were
largely inspired by the work on this blog. It was a lovely and
surreal moment as I accidentally eaves dropped on their
comments of gratitude about having found Beyond Meds.
Today instead I stumbled upon a comment in which the
person mused the opposite. She was not at all comfortable
with my message:

Hrmmmmread over this ladys pages and I just cant

get behind anything she says. I think its IMMENSELY
dangerous to suggest that the bulk of psychiatric disorders
arent even illnesses, and that psych meds are hokum.
Clearly, she was over medicated and under treated as a
teenager. However, I think this withdrawal symptom is a
load of BS and is, in actuality, her disorder in an untreated
and worsening state. Do you withdrawal from meds
initially, sure, but for years? I doubt it. And its not as if I
dont have experience here. I was on some serious meds
as a teen and young adult, and like her, wasnt getting
anywhere but sedated and deadened. However, finding
the right meds takes time and a good doctor. I finally got
there and found out that my mood swings and sensitivity
didnt have to be the way I lived my life. Without my meds,
I can honestly say I wouldnt be here.

The only real issue here is that she imagines her experience
is somehow universal. We are all individuals and when we
forget that we are potentially dangerous to anyone for whom
we think we know better than they do.

I am not this woman and she is not me. There is room for both
of our experiences. When we project our experience onto
someone else we cease to respect them. We cease to
acknowledge them as a separate person.
Let us stop doing that to one another. I wont do it to this
woman who found that medications saved her life. I ask that
she and others like her not do it to those of us who have been
gravely harmed by the very same medications.

And to those of us whove been harmed I send great big hugs

and love because its doctors and a medical system who
believes as this woman does that continues to make it difficult
for us to heal once weve beeniatrogenically injured.

In response to her concern that I am in a worsening state I

can only say that I am in a state of deep gratitude for the
lovely healing machine that my body is as my improvements
take on an exponential pace. Everyday I can do more now
and also everyday now I understand more about my body/
mind and spirit.

I am in awe of this life we have been given. Let us respect the

path, however it unfolds, in each and every one of us.

***

Informed consent and pro-choice

when it comes to drugs
and medications
MARCH 23, 2012BYMONICA CASSANI

Im doing a repost from a couple of years ago. I thought of

this old post of mine the other day when I readWe need
drugsbyElliot Goldberg at Mad in America. That article takes
on a dierent aspect of what Im talking about below. Theyre
good companion pieces in my opinion. In the end we must
find a way to Goldbergs prescription:

In order to get back to an environmentwhere we can

manage the pent up emotions caused by decades of
escapism and self-medication we must once again
embrace the loss and grief that rampant depression
designates.

Until the healers/therapists/social workers/psychiatrists in our

society can do that for themselves those who seek help in the
broken mental health and psychiatric systems wont be
finding out how to do that for themselves.

I wrote all the below having been gravely harmed by

prescribed psychiatric drugs. I was not given the information I
needed to make a real choice and in fact was told many
things that are simply untrue. I am drug free today but I am
not free from the harm the drugs wrought in my life. I am very
motivated to help people find options that they might not feel
forced to take drugs. Feeling forced, is not really a choice at
all, is it? Until the time we have a sane infrastructure of care,
we must be both pragmatic and compassionate about the
reality on the ground today, while working to change it as
quickly as possible that fewer people will be harmed.

Pro-information and pro-choice when it

comes to drugs and medications
I posted about theNew York Times article the other day in
which two doctors in answering the question, Are sleeping
pills addictive?are slaughtered by the commenters who
know the truth,yes indeed sleeping pills can cause
addiction.While the doctors respond by saying sleeping pills
are safe, the readers told stories of addiction and disability.
Also, in the fray were people who felt that sleeping pills had
saved their lives. And others who clearly had used the drugs
and had no horrible outcome or felt theyd been saved by
them.

The truth is not everybody becomes addicted. Those whodo

become addicted have varying degrees of diculty freeing
themselves when they decide that is what they want. And
some of us end up bedridden and sick for years. Big
spectrum of outcomes. Yes.

For example in my mid-twenties I came o of Xanax after

using it daily for 2 or 3 years. It was painless and uneventful.
That fact led me to think that perhaps I wouldnt have issues
in the future and I did not hesitate to resume use of
benzodiazepines later. This is something people generally
dont understand. For some stopping and starting leads to
what is called akindling eect on the withdrawal boards,
which seems tomake future attempts to quit more dicult.
That said, Ive seen folks on the benzo boards have a hell of
a time when only having taken something like Xanax a matter
of a couple of weeks or months. So time on the drug is not
even always indicative nor is age though some generalities
can be made about both factors.

Below I share a comment of someone who has worked in

addiction medicine. The comment struck me as the voice of
reason in that thread. It was broadly ignored by the other
commenters. This person has observed many people and
has emerged with a view similar to my own though his bias is
most likely leaning in a dierent direction. I do feel that we
should always look to solutions other than neurotoxic drugs.
That we should move in a direction where people feel less
compelled to take a pharmaceutical solution and that they
have access to the necessary resources so that they might
be able to actuallymake another choice.

I am adamantly pro-choice. I do not assume that because

psychiatric drugs are the iatrogenic cause of my chronic
illness and disability, that anyone else should come to final
conclusions about their own use of medications. I understand
that people who feel that similar drugs have saved them may
have very good reasons to believe such. I understand that life
is incredibly complex and in the end we are all just trying to
survive and find contentment.Sometimes a solution to aid in
survival when there is no other viable option is a good choice.

Most people who end up on drugs that harm did not have
viable options or they were not told of them if they did have
them which amounts to a similar circumstance in their
personal understanding of their own experience. Of course
we dont have an infrastructure of care that oer options and
that is where policy making and legislation and education
have to come in. For now though many people simply have
very few options, but worse, if they do have access to
options or alternatives they are not told and so they may
make choices that are harmful when it isnt necessary.
Also, people are not generally told thatpsychiatric drugs of
all kinds are indeed addictive and/or potentially physically
damaging, which disallows people to understand they may
want to make another choice or they may want to take a
medication only during an acute or crisis phase to limit harm.
I know lots of people who take meds on a PRN (as needed)
basis now, in crisis only. And that includes meds that are not
routinely prescribed that way. Most of these people do very
well. And most everyone else is not told this is an option and
are instead told they need many dangerous drugs for the rest
of their lives.

The fact is there are more choices than simply drugs or no

drugs. That is a hard thing for people who think in black and
white to grasp.

If we are told that these drugs have the risks and dangers
that they have when we are oered them then we can
approach their use with much greater caution. As it stands
now many dont understand that caution is warranted. This is
why the doctors who respond to the question Are sleeping
pills addictive? are out and out criminal. That many people
dont get addicted is true. But if our doctors assure us these
drugs are safe with no caveats about the large number of
users who are devastated by addiction or illness after taking
them, then we have not been able to make an informed
choice.

Being that life is dicult and we are all dierent it may be

appropriate for some people to choose meds after knowing
the risks. The problem is most people do not know the risks.
This goes for all psychiatric drugs with all the dangerous risks
involvedaddiction is only one of them. With other psych
meds it may also be addiction and dependence but its often
all sorts of life shortening physical problems such as
diabetes, weight gain, heart disease etc.Sleeping pills also
shorten life span.Much moreinfo on this class of drugs on
my Benzo Info page.At this juncture informed consent is our
responsibility because our medical professionals dont
provide us with this information!

I liked this personscomments in response to the New York

Times piece. It is one that respect our dierences. His bias
may be in a dierent direction than mine, but still we largely
agree.

***

I have worked in addiction medicine for many years, I get

it. One of the things that people leave out in these kinds
of discussions is the fact that all of us are neuro-chemicial
organisms every one of our cells is a chemical factory
that reacts and responds to our internal and external
environment. We are humans. Are we similar to each
other? Yes. Are we identical? No. We all have neural
pathways and chemical responses that are individually
unique to us.

Problems emerge when we begin to think that everyone

should or does behave or react the same way, or that
solutions are the same for everyone. We know a lot about
the neurochemistry of the brain, but in actuality what we
know is only a fraction of what there is to know. Much of
what we know is inferred which means we know it
indirectly. Some might say that we are making it up, and
in some ways that is true.

The point is that every person with any kind of sleep

disturbance is dierent, and what works for me may not
work for you. Does everyone who has insomnia need
prescription medication? No. Will everyone respond to
natural methods? No. Will some people need to be on
sleep medication long term? Yes. Does everyone who
takes sleep medication become addicted? No. Do some
people have reactions or become addicted? Obviously
yes. Do we need to use good judgement when treating
this disorder? Of course. Do we need more research and
more education? Thats a no-brainer.

Thankfully I have never had a problem with sleep. But in

the course of many years I have seen the negative eects
that chronic insomia (much like chronic pain) can have on
the quality of life for individuals. When we try to put
everyone in the same box, we risk losing our compassion
for the people that dont fit in the box. As they say, unless
you have walked in someone elses moccasins, you cant
really know what it is like for them. For me, I would rather
have a hundred dierent possilbilities for remedies that
might work, than only one that doesnt work.
***

Discernment about our individuality and the vast array of

human experience and context helps us be in the moment so
that we might respond to both our needs and that of others
most eectively. We all need dierent things at dierent
times. Some of us have far more resources, both internally
and externally than others. Economics and education have a
lot to do with what any given individual has access to. This
must change, no doubt. I certainly hope that a day comes
when there are many options oered to all regardless of
individual resources and that those options will allow most
people to avoid potentially dangerous drugs most of the time.
We dont live in the future though and we have to be present
and compassionate to the reality of today. Sometimes drugs
are unavoidable. Today. Someday that may be true much
less frequently. We need to make that happen while
understanding the reality of the moment.