Inner Compass Initiative

🧵In a new BBC @sciencefocus article, professor of psychology Michael Hengartner (@HengartnerMP) highlights how short-term trials misrepresent the realities of antidepressant withdrawal. 1/

Cathy shares her full story in her memoir, Unshackled Mind: A Doctor’s Story of Trauma, Liberation and Healing. You can read an exclusive abridged version of it on our site here👇. 6/6 theinnercompass.org/text-story/onc…

As she reflects: "This is what I had needed all those years ago as a young mother and junior doctor in crisis." 5/

🧵People are often told the pairing of antidepressants with therapy is optimal, suggesting the dulling of distressing symptoms will create space for deeper emotional work. 1/

@ChrisPaigeLCSW We also have extensive information on akathisia as part of our free psych drug withdrawal resources. See the “Start here with our free resources” link in our Linktree, via our bio. 7/7

@ChrisPaigeLCSW He also shows you that it's possible to survive akathisia and then, to go from strength to strength, and to thrive. If you’ve ever struggled to explain akathisia to people, this is the video that bridges that gap. You can watch it in full here 👇. 6/ youtu.be/FgYOQjIV4pk

🧵One of the most excruciating effects of psychiatric drugs and withdrawal from them is akathisia. And part of what makes it so devastating is how utterly impossible it is to describe to anyone who hasn’t lived it. 1/

1/ Today, @alicegcallahan from the New York Times @nytimes published an article on ketogenic diets and serious mental illness. It feels fitting. (link below) It was exactly ten years ago today that our son @matthewbaszucki, at age 19, was involuntarily admitted to Stanford's psychiatric hospital for manic psychosis. After a diagnosis of Bipolar I and a five year battle with debilitating symptoms, he found @ChrisPalmerMD and started ketogenic and metabolic therapies. His symptoms have been in remission since early 2021, and today, he is still in ketosis and is thriving. I just had the pleasure of watching Matthew present his story on stage at @realCSF's #CoSci26 conference in Las Vegas. His health, vitality, confidence and insight brought me to tears. He also participated on a panel about his experience with other inspiring individuals @DrEricRodgers @robynrdobbins who appear in our upcoming film from @wideeyetv @jenisenhart @realDaveFeldman, The Cholesterol Code, which premiered last Saturday and received a well-deserved standing ovation. (link below) The Times article highlighted three of our family foundation @BaszuckiGroup's funded published studies (Stanford, The Ohio State University, and U. Edinburgh) and the stories of two individuals who, like our son, found hope in ketogenic therapy and who have generously shared their stories and strategies with @Metabolic_Mind's THINK+SMART program (links below). My fifth decade started as the hardest of my life and ended as the most rewarding. I am deeply grateful to the work of metabolic psychiatry pioneers @ChrisPalmerMD @GeorgiaEdeMD @SethiSheba74345 and others who made my son's healing possible, to the researchers around the world studying the connection between metabolic and mental health, and to our entire team at Baszucki Group and Metabolic Mind for their dedication to this cause. We're on the brink of a new era in the treatment of mental illness. Godspeed to the ongoing research, clinical adoption, and sharing of personal stories that could help tens of millions of people around the world.

…And here’s more about the Research Institute—more updates on it coming soon! 8/8 theinnercompass.org/researchinstit…

…Here’s where you can watch all the talks from our conference 👇. 7/ youtube.com/playlist?list=…

You've been leading the push for real change in mental health, challenging over-medicalization and seeking gentler paths through withdrawal and emotional distress. 1/