For a further information about the effects of the seasons on mood and behaviour, and strategies to deal with the difficulties caused by the short dark days of winter or other forms of light deprivation, I refer the interested reader to my book Winter Blues (Guilford Publications, 1993), which deals with these topics in greater detail.

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Start with five minutes abdominal breathing, and try to be aware of your breathing during the session. Arrange for someone to play a relaxation tape. Choose one that has a passage of soothing music at the end. Close your eyes and imagine you are with the group or with someone who has made you feel secure in the past. Let the tape ‘wash over you’ without struggling to concentrate.

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Always see your doctor if you have chest pain have experienced tightness, numbness or pain in the chest or down the left arm. This could be another rebound effect. After you have been reassured by your doctor, accept the temporary discomfort, it will pass. Abdominal breathing often helps.

It is not surprising that people become convinced that there is something wrong with their hearts when they experience palpitations or missed beats. If you were running for a bus and your heart rate increased, it would not worry you. Because you are cutting down on drugs that have slowed the heart rate, you can expect a similar effect.

Eye Problems

Sore eyes and visual disturbances are common. Users often change their spectacles several times during withdrawal. Check with your oculist to make sure, but you will probably find that the blurred vision and sore eyes will clear up as withdrawal progresses. Pads of cotton wool soaked with witch-hazel on closed eyes may be soothing. Tinted lenses are helpful if you are sensitive to light.

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When someone is anxious, over-breathing is usually present (again part of the ‘fright and flight’ response), but in withdrawal it seems different. Users in hospital for acute withdrawal have been observed to over-breathe even whilst asleep.

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Acute Withdrawal in Hospital

If sick leave is possible, your doctor may be able to arrange hospital admission. This is usually advisable after a long drug history, or where the side-effects are causing chronic ill health. A four to six week stay is usual with at least two weeks without the drugs before leaving hospital. For some, there will still be a recovery period after discharge.

Since this is essentially a medical problem, a pharmacological or drug dependence unit is preferable. Some people refuse a bed in a psychiatric hospital. Others are eager to come off their drugs quickly and will go anywhere. Resist well-meaning therapists who attempt psychological probing in early withdrawal. You may not have deep psychological problems. Even if you have, it is not the time for the ‘Why do you hate your father?’ approach. It should be a time for rest and reassurance. Deep conflicts will arise spontaneously if they need to.

Try not to develop a ‘pill phobia’. Accepting other drugs temporarily to keep you comfortable could help your recovery.

It is exciting to see the physical changes that appear as people come off their tranquillizers—eyes lose the dull glazed look, skin colour and texture improve, and hair comes back to life.

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