Want to create an interactive transcript for this episode?
Podcast: Ask Dr. Drew
Episode: 14 Years & 19 Meds: Why Laura Delano Stopped Years Of Psychiatric Drugs & Went “Unshrunk” + Paleovalley’s Autumn Smith
Description: “The more I suffered, the more medical treatments I was convinced I needed, but the more treatments I received, the more I suffered,” writes Laura Delano, author of the memoir UNSHRUNK.
At age 14, Laura Delano was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and prescribed mood stabilizers and antidepressants. Despite academic and athletic success, she struggled with rage and despair. Over 14 years, she received multiple diagnoses and 19 medications. But her condition worsened and was deemed “treatment resistant.” Delano chose to stop medications, challenging psychiatric norms and exploring an unmedicated life, and details the results – and her critique of the mental health and p...