Dear ReflectiveWriter,
Thank you for sharing your story. I am sorry to hear that you had post-partum anxiety for 2 years before seeking help and I appreciate your willingness to speak about your experience.

You are absolutely right, taking medicines to stabilise a patient so they can clear the 'noise' to have the mental space to learn other techniques like therapy, mediation or CBT (to name a few) - which are potentially lifelong solutions - is exactly how they should be used.

I wholeheartedly agree that medicines are not for everyone but they are an option that works for some people and that's why they are still around. Of course, the way healthcare professionals use them needs updated guidance. There needs to be an improvement in the way they are recommended to patients and further communication to identify medicines as stepping stones or temporary measures.

You rightfully said that some people may be on them for a long time or longer than they might expect compared to other people and it needs to be normalised that this is okay because everyone's situation is unique to them. There should be no sense of failure or societal stigma for seeking self-help, especially in the form of medicines.

I hope your situation has improved and I wish you the very best.