Somewhat New Beginnings

Oh the first post...so, I've just started tapering off Zoloft this week. For all of your who may not be aware, Zoloft is an SSRI that helps with anxiety, etc. For me it's helped greatly with anxiety and also obsession. I've been taking it since June/July of 2007. I can't recall the exact date.

Why am I going off of it since it's helped me so much? Good question! I would definitely say that the main answer is that my partner and I want to have kids in the not too terribly distant future and it's not advised that you take Zoloft while pregnant or breastfeeding. Another big reason is that I just am curious to see if I can manage my anxiety on my own.

I currently feel like I'm in a good position to try to stop taking Zoloft for a few reasons:

• I completed the Penn Program for Mindfulness in June, and it basically alleviated any of the anxiety that did not go away through using Zoloft alone.

• Then I began going to Philadelphia Community Acupuncture weekly. It's amazing and has helped with my anxiety also. It also makes me feel like I have an extra layer of support while trying to stop taking Zoloft.

• The Penn Program for Mindfulness also made me more aware of my own spirituality. While I was interested in Buddhism before I took the course, I have really been reading a lot of Buddhist literature since April. This has also helped me incredibly.

Plus I have my wonderful partner who has just started med school. I wasn't sure originally if de would be supportive or not since de's pretty "if Western medicine works, then why not use it," but de is always supportive of me and understanding of what I feel like I need to do. I'll leave you with a picture of us at our wedding this past summer.