Treating distress without prescription drugs

Liz Dunphy looks at addiction and prescription tranquilisers — and talks to the practitioners who are re-humanising the treatment of emotional distress — without pharmaceutical intervention.

Every morning Carmel wakes up from a fitful, toxic sleep in her Tipperary home. Her whole body vibrates like an internal jackhammer is belting her from inside — a loud sharp tinnitus floods her brain with distracting noise, her muscles forget how to function and her skin feels too tight for her body.

These are just some of the symptoms that have plagued Carmel for 19 long months since she stopped taking low daily doses of Valium which she was prescribed since August 2007.