Last Updated on December 20, 2023 by
The loving support I received there helped me transform and reclaim the best of myself … I will always feel indebted to ATMC and feel part of the extended ATMC family.
I began taking psych meds at age 16 to fight chronic head pain. I experimented with some forty meds until I settled on Cymbalta and Depakote. I soon added Ambien and Toradol to the mix. This continued for almost a decade until the head pain became unbearable and I started taking opiates: morphine, Percocet, and increasingly stronger doses of codeine. Eventually I reached overdose levels and my body went into shock. I quit the opiates cold turkey further exacerbating the problem and sending me into a psychotic state.
I entered a mental hospital and then transitioned into a partial hospital program for four months. During my stay there I increased the number of psych meds to nine. Sensing my life was once again threatened, I begin looking for detox options.
After doing thorough research, including seeking the advice of Dr. Peter Breggin, I decided to go to ATMC in Sedona, Arizona. When I arrived I was shaking uncontrollably from the lithium and from nervous spasms. The shakes were so pronounced that I had trouble feeding myself and my neck and back were sore from the constant shaking.
During my two months at ATMC, the medical staff helped me reduce and eliminate my psychiatric medications. The program components that helped me the most were the environmental medicine ridding my body of toxins, the nutritious food geared towards healing brain chemistry, the vitamins/supplements, and the nutrition/fitness education so I could sustain my new state of being for a lifetime. In addition, the staff I found to be wanting always to help me and get me through it.
I feel more vibrant than I have felt in thirty years. My shakes are gone and I no longer fear for my life. I am no longer enslaved to psych meds. Gaining mastery of my mind and nerves is the greatest accomplishment I have achieved in my life.
I know I could not have come this far by my own wits. In fact, I was at wits end before I came to ATMC. The loving support I received there helped me transform and reclaim the best of myself. I will always feel indebted to ATMC and feel part of the extended ATMC family.
C.D. – ATMC graduate November 2012.
