How I Overcame "Treatment-Resistant" Mental Illness: Laura Delano’s Journey

Video Description

Can you safely taper off psychiatric medications? And what are the potential harms of long-term psychiatric care? Laura Delano spent years as a professional patient, navigating psychiatric diagnoses, multiple medications, and a life defined by treatment. In this interview, Laura discusses her 13-year experience as a psychiatric patient, the impact of long-term medication use, and how she took back control of her health to successfully taper off multiple psychiatric drugs. After receiving unsafe advice to taper too quickly, Laura suffered terrible withdrawal. Ultimately, she learned about safe tapering protocols, which she now shares with others. Through her nonprofit, Inner Compass Initiative, she’s empowering people to make informed choices about psychiatric medications and de-prescription. 💡 In this episode, we cover: ✅ Laura’s personal story of polypharmacy and its effects ✅ The impact of long-term psychiatric medication ✅ The challenges of tapering and withdrawal ✅ How Laura has rebuilt her life beyond medications ✅ How Laura built a nonprofit to support others on the same path ✅ The role of diet, lifestyle, and community in mental health recovery ✅ Why informed consent is crucial for psychiatric treatment decisions ✅ The mission of Inner Compass Initiative A new path for many hoping to ease the burden of tapering off meds could be ketogenic therapy, which many are using to safely reduce or even eliminate psychiatric medications. More research is needed, but many anecdotal reports offer hope. Laura’s new book _Unshrunk: A Story of Psychiatric Treatment Resistance_ is available March 18, 2025. ⚠️ Trigger Warning: This conversation includes discussion of suicidality and a suicide attempt. Please take care when watching. #MentalHealth #Psychiatry #Deprescribing #PsychiatricMedication #Tapering #MetabolicPsychiatry *Expert Featured:* Laura Delano https://x.com/LauraDelano IG: @_lauradelano_ Website: https://www.lauradelano.com/ *Resources Mentioned:* Inner Compass Initiative - https://www.theinnercompass.org/ Laura’a New Book: _Unshrunk: A Story of Psychiatric Treatment Resistance_ - https://unshrunkthebook.com/ The Challenges of Going off Psychiatric Drugs - https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/04/08/the-challenge-of-going-off-psychiatric-drugs *CMEs Mentioned:* _Managing Major Mental Illness with Dietary Change: The New Science of Hope_ - https://www.mycme.com/courses/managing-major-mental-illness-with-dietary-change-9616 _Brain Energy: The Metabolic Theory of Mental Illness_ - https://www.mycme.com/courses/brain-energy-the-metabolic-theory-of-mental-illness-9615 Follow our channel for more information and education from Bret Scher, MD, FACC, including interviews with leading experts in Metabolic Psychiatry. Learn more about metabolic psychiatry and find helpful resources at https://metabolicmind.org/ *About us:* Metabolic Mind is a non-profit initiative of Baszucki Group working to transform the study and treatment of mental disorders by exploring the connection between metabolism and brain health. We leverage the science of metabolic psychiatry and personal stories to offer education, community, and hope to people struggling with mental health challenges and those who care for them. Our channel is for informational purposes only. We are not providing individual or group medical or healthcare advice nor establishing a provider-patient relationship. Many of the interventions we discuss can have dramatic or potentially dangerous effects if done without proper supervision. Consult your healthcare provider before changing your lifestyle or medications. *Timestamps:* 0:00 - Introduction to Laura Delano and deprescribing medications. Laura’s powerful story. 10:31 - What was Laura’s mindset when she was told her mental illness was “treatment-resistant?” What could have been done differently with Laura’s treatment in her youth to improve her outcomes at the time? 16:30 - What was Laura’s experience with treatment? How did Laura Delano change her treatment to improve her mental illness? How did deprescribing affect her mental health? 26:00 - What was Laura Delano’s recovery like? 31:10 - What is Laura Delano doing to spread awareness of her journey to help others? What has she learned from doing this work? How should people taper psychiatric medication? 39:23 - What advice does she have for people working with care team to deprescribe? 44:33 - Can a ketogenic diet and other metabolic interventions make it easier to come off psychiatric medications? 50:24 - Where can people find more from Laura Delano, her book and Inner Compass Initiative?