We’re a nonprofit that helps people make informed choices about psychiatric drugs and provides resources for those considering or undertaking a taper.
United States
Joined May 2016
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Inner Compass Initiative retweeted
Heart-wrenching story from a mom whose daughter was forced on SSRIs she had repeatedly responded poorly to. She wasn't informed her daughter was given an antipsychotic either. And she wasn't given information about the black box warning. SSRIs are known to have a higher risk of suicidal ideation in young people
@_innercompass
Inner Compass Initiative retweeted
Using the Lindsay Clancy case to score points in political culture wars is counterproductive in the long-term.
The case isn't directly about liberalism, conservatism, or feminism. It's about failures of the medical system, egregious gaps in postpartum and mental healthcare, and the unchecked risks of overprescribing.
Distracting the public with political theater leaves the door open for the next tragedy.
#LindsayClancy #MentalHealth
Inner Compass Initiative retweeted
So grateful to VX for sharing what they're going through. Benzo withdrawal is known as the most brutal out there, and doing it wrong can lead to death. I've read a lot about it and thankfully never gad to go through it myself. But your brain's gaba receptors are frighteningly sensitive and adaptive. Dependence can form in WEEKS. I was horrified to learn that millions of Americans are prescribed them for long term use even in mild cases. I know long term use can be necessary but it'sso often a decision taken lightly by doctors. And it's absolute hell.
Trying to taper off Benzodiazepine update:
It fucking sucks. It sucks ass so much. I read so many comments from fellow benzo addicts who told me it sucked ass.
I breezed threw the first 75% like nothing. I thought, "well, it's different for everyone, maybe literally everyone on the planet is wrong and mine won't be bad". It turns out, everyone on the planet was right and I was wrong (unsurprisingly).
This last quarter is hell on earth. I'm doing it with an addiction specialist, so I'm not going to die, I don't have any psychological symptoms, but the mental anguish my CNS is going through is unbelievable (anxiety, irritability, confusion, insomnia).
Dude, if you're a younger person and someone offers you Xanax, or Klonopin, or Valium, whatever, don't fuck with it bro. If your doctor offers it, don't stay on it for more than 30 days. Don't fuck around with this shit bro, I'm being so dead ass serious.
At my current pace, I don't think I'll be clean from Benzos until sometime in 2027 bro. It's the absolute worst. Benzos are so fucking bad bro.
If you're addicted or dependent on Benzos like I was, you can do it dawg, you can push through and get off the drugs (which I'm currently doing), but you need to lock the fuck in and prepare for some extreme irritability, anxiety, insomnia, and mild memory fuzziness and confusion.
Anyway, that's my lore update. I know many of you people living inside my computer ask for updates, I am unironically some people's test dummy because they're afraid to try quitting. Don't be afraid. You can do it.
Ok, talk to you later, love you, xoxo
Inner Compass Initiative retweeted
The paperback of Chemically Imbalanced was released yesterday amid continuing debate about the never-ending rise in antidepressant prescriptions. I argue that medicalising misery is not supported by science and ultimately does more harm than good.
Inner Compass Initiative retweeted
Watch the entire interview of @_innercompass founder @LauraDelano by @TheoVon on episode 678 of This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von podcast.
youtu.be/QK1q5yTRY7s
Inner Compass Initiative retweeted
I was two years off psych meds, sitting on my couch, so agitated I wanted to rip my skin off.
I realized at that moment that the freedom I’d been yearning for in the wake of my psychiatrization wasn’t about withdrawing from the prescriptions, themselves, but from the belief that pain is a problem with a quick fix.
@TheoVon @ThisPastWeeknd
Inner Compass Initiative retweeted
@TheoVon + I talk about the personal + cultural consequences of long-term antidepressant use, how to safely withdraw from psych drugs, what's really behind the American mental health crisis, gerbils, @ricflair, homebirth, + much more. Such a blast to come on, my friend. ❤️🔥🙏
Inner Compass Initiative retweeted
Great @nytimes piece on Cam's story and when the treatment is worse than the disease.
"For some patients, trying to stop medication provoked withdrawal symptoms even more debilitating than the depression or anxiety they’d set out to treat. The doctors and nurse practitioners who prescribed their drugs provided little guidance on how to prevent these symptoms beyond staying on the drugs."
Inner Compass Initiative retweeted
Interesting article in the New York Times today:
"The more fixated we are on mental health, the more sensitive we become to anything that might qualify as a symptom and the more we use clinical language to describe normal emotional experiences like grief, burnout and loneliness. This broadening of what we think counts as a disorder — known as concept creep — encourages us to pathologize ordinary life and see ourselves as mentally unhealthy."
Inner Compass Initiative retweeted
A lot of older physicians reaching out to me in a kind way. They are apologetic for the ways of the past. See how they have contributed to overprescribing. They are glad that @_innercompass is supporting project like this that wouldn't get attention.
"We don’t even list those risks! Even if we list them, it does not mean we actually said them, let alone emphasized them."
"I agree with the conclusion of the study and I must admit that I am one of those guilty of not having fully informed patients about the possible side effects of SSRIs."
We should use this report to think about what informed consent of SSRIs could mean.
Antidepressants have been in the spotlight. Are we prescribing them too much? Do they have more side effects than we initially thought? Should the message be “safe and effective” or something more restrained?
ICI helped me and a few colleagues put together a survey of 1,260 U.S. adults previously prescribed SSRIs, asking what they remembered being told about side effects. The goal is to find potential opportunities for improvement, and better understand the current state of what patients recall being told.
This was not a survey of disgruntled people looking to bash SSRIs. It was run by an independent organization seeking a broad sample of U.S. adults with prior SSRI use.
Key findings:
• For none of the 11 side effects did a majority of patients recall being informed
• For each of the 11, a majority said they would have preferred to be informed
• 44% said they would have been less likely to take the medication if they had been fully informed
• The largest gaps between “I was told” and “wanted to know” were for bleeding risk and sodium imbalance. Among the common effects, withdrawal and sexual dysfunction showed the biggest gap.
Link below
Inner Compass Initiative retweeted
Antidepressants have been in the spotlight. Are we prescribing them too much? Do they have more side effects than we initially thought? Should the message be “safe and effective” or something more restrained?
ICI helped me and a few colleagues put together a survey of 1,260 U.S. adults previously prescribed SSRIs, asking what they remembered being told about side effects. The goal is to find potential opportunities for improvement, and better understand the current state of what patients recall being told.
This was not a survey of disgruntled people looking to bash SSRIs. It was run by an independent organization seeking a broad sample of U.S. adults with prior SSRI use.
Key findings:
• For none of the 11 side effects did a majority of patients recall being informed
• For each of the 11, a majority said they would have preferred to be informed
• 44% said they would have been less likely to take the medication if they had been fully informed
• The largest gaps between “I was told” and “wanted to know” were for bleeding risk and sodium imbalance. Among the common effects, withdrawal and sexual dysfunction showed the biggest gap.
Link below
Inner Compass Initiative retweeted
History is repeating itself.
More than 20 years ago, opponents of stronger antidepressant suicide warnings argued that informing patients would scare them away from treatment.
Today, the same argument is being used against improving withdrawal and tapering guidelines and support.
That’s why I wrote this counterpoint, just published in the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Patients deserve the full story. That’s informed consent.
@markhoro @SecKennedy @_AndersSorensen @ACE_CoalitionEd @StarTribune @Mad_In_America @DrDavidHealy @MaryanneDemasi @_innercompass
@MISSDFoundation @derekblumke
startribune.com/mental-healt…
Inner Compass Initiative retweeted
.@_innercompass report on the lack of informed consent with SSRI prescription - and what patients say they wish they were informed about going on SSRIs
Inner Compass Initiative retweeted
Someone get this guy some tapering guidelines, stat
These cuts are needlessly large and unfortunately, incredibly common
This is a significant public health issue
Lots of people asked me to be their Benzodiazepine test dummy and kind of document my taper and stuff. Many people seemed nervous trying to quit. Here is the current state. Unfortunately it is not good.
> be me
> on Benzodiazepines
> 14 years
> not good
> decide to stop
> cut by 25%
> not too bad
> people say be careful
> can be hard
> no big deal
> cut another 25%
> hehe 50% reduction
> shrimple
> day 5 arrives of 50% cut
> feel weird
> whatever
> day 6 feel weirder
> day 8 arrives
> deep unfathomable depression
> feel empty, unable to even malware
Holy cannoli, Chat. This will pass, but you have GOT to be prepared when doing big tapers with Klonopin or Benzodiazepines. I know tons of people told me, but the first aggressive 25% cut wasn't bad.
My brains GABA thingies are screaming at me and it feels like my soul is being crushed. It is a deep hollow emptiness and wave after wave of anxiety.
Here is a silly picture depicting how I currently feel inside. Klonopin is not cool and it is not badass. It fucks you up
Inner Compass Initiative retweeted
There is a recent piece in psychiatric times written with a distinct lack of epistemic humility. It is a response to mainstream critiques of overprescribing and instead of leaning into tensions and working constructively, it reads to me as the same biased over generalizing 🧵
Inner Compass Initiative retweeted
Since our founding as a 501c3 nonprofit nearly 10 years ago, Inner Compass Initiative has been leading the way not just raising awareness of the impacts of runaway and perverse incentives across our modern mental health system, but also acting as a beacon of light, helping to orient the growing number of individuals and families navigating the often confusing landscape of drugs, diagnosis, treatment and (increasingly) tapering/withdrawal.
Please consider donating today; just as more people than ever are realizing the mainstream mental health paradigm doesn’t have the answers they are looking for, we have greatly expanded our impact, capacity and ability to connect these folks to the information, resources and supports they need.
And we have done so as an entirely independent, truly grassroots organization: to date, we are proud to say we have taken on no government or private grants, and every dollar we have raised is from individuals and families whose lives have been directly impacted by these issues.
(That doesn’t mean we are closed off to grant money! But are happy to wait for funding partners that fully align with our values, trust in our integrity, want to support our mission and vision as we are pursuing them)
Your donations, no matter what size, one-time or reoccurring, cash or equities (every year we receive a decent amount of Pharmaceutical company stock, which we sell upon receipt!) are literally the only reason we have been able to achieve ANYTHING, and at this point we have achieved quite A LOT (especially over the last 18 months).
Consider this: in the U.S. alone, mental health nonprofits bring in more than $63 billion in revenue every year, and almost all of that money is going towards getting MORE people into MORE treatment, MORE diagnoses, and MORE drugs.
ICI might be the ONLY mental health organizations pumping the brakes.
🧵 From building a community where people support each other’s life beyond psychiatric drugs and diagnoses, to developing trustworthy resources that provide practical guidance, every dollar you donate to Inner Compass Initiative moves our work forward. 1/7
ALT Background: photo of two hands holding each other Text overlay: HOW YOUR DONATIONS ARE CHANGING PEOPLE'S LIVES Scroll through to see how your support is having a huge impact
Inner Compass Initiative retweeted
In the 90s and early 2000s, people talked far less about their so-called “mental health.”
We were told the problem was “stigma” and that we should focus on increasing “mental health awareness” to fight it– which would, in turn, lessen rates of suffering.
Today,” conversations about “mental health” are everywhere and access to treatment has never been higher.
Yet more people are anxious, depressed, and unhappy than ever before.
That should make us rethink the direction we have taken.
@Doctortro @BrianLenzkes
Inner Compass Initiative retweeted
We spend so much time talking about and focusing on mental health. But, we are more mentally ill than ever.
How did we get here?
Presenting Thank You For Sharing, a Passage TV Documentary.
Coming soon.
Inner Compass Initiative retweeted
Great work from @EllenBarryNYT on today’s The Daily podcast, breaking down the “open secret” that doctors are far better at getting people ON psych drugs than off them
R.F.K. Jr.’s Newest Mission: Getting Us Off Antidepressants nytimes.com/2026/06/22/podca… via @NYTimes
Inner Compass Initiative retweeted
We treat psychiatric drugs like candy.
You can see that in who writes most psychiatric prescriptions.
Psychiatrists aren’t writing most of them.
Primary care providers are.
That means many of these drugs get prescribed during routine appointments by physicians who have even less of an understanding of the potential risks of long-term psychiatric drug use than psychiatrists do.
Too often, someone walks into an annual checkup struggling with stress, grief, or anxiety and walks out with a prescription.
These are powerful psychoactive chemicals that can profoundly alter how the brain and body function.
After decades of drug advertising and cultural messaging, we’ve convinced ourselves every problem has a pill and every pill is worth the trade off.
@realalexclark