I Was Put on Psychiatric Drugs at 7…I’m Still Paying the Price | Danielle Gansky
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How did Danielle’s experience with antidepressants begin in childhood?
30 years old and you've been medicalized since you were seven. I don't know who I am underneath it all. My life, I do feel like, was stolen from me. I experienced literally what felt like a chemical lobotomy. You don't hear your own voice in your head reading. It's blocked for me. It almost feels like I have dementia. My entire brain development happened under the influence of psychiatric drugs. The withdrawal from the SSRIs dropped me into a living nightmare of non-stop physical and psychological torment. The pain was unlike anything I had ever known. I became bedridden, disabled, suicidal. It was like a chemically induced anxiety. Doctors are trained to prescribe these drugs. They've received no education on how to safely help patients come off of them.
Millions of people take antidepressants every single day. For many, they're life-changing. For others, they say the real nightmare doesn't begin until they try to stop. For decades, the conversation is centered on whether these medications work. Far less attention has been paid to what can happen after years of use, or why some people say they can't get off of them without devastating consequences. Today's guest was prescribed antidepressants at just seven years. She is now 30 and says that she is still trapped by them. After suffering severe neurological injuries, she attributes to long-term SSRI use. She's become a leading advocate calling for informed consent, safer tapering practices, and recognition of the millions of people who believe that they've been harmed.
All side effects of the damage that has been done to
Please welcome Danielle Gansky to Culture Apothecary. I want people to understand who you were before all of this. So who was little Danielle?
I was a very happy, sweet, sensitive child. I was outgoing. I was also a little bit shy in class. Um I loved the Disney Channel. I loved Cartoon Network. What was your favorite Disney show? Well, I really loved like Hannah Montana. That was my favorite show. But I I think I grew up watching like That's So Raven. Loved That So Raven. That was the best. Oh my gosh. Um but that just like I had a really beautiful, incredible childhood. I had a really happy home life. Um I was just very naturally happy, go lucky kid.
And do you feel like that version of your life was stolen from you? Absolutely.
So I I guess it all started when I was in school and a teacher noticed I just wasn't fitting the school system exactly how they think you're supposed to be. And I was a bit fidgety, distracted. I also wasn't fully keeping up academically. So one of the teachers suggested that I be evaluated for something called ADHD.
And you were seven. I was seven. Yeah. And had your parents noticed the same types of signs with you? I think it's
It all came from the teacher because at home I was complete like they weren't complaining or noticing something was off or wrong. It really just came down to the one lens that teacher saw me fidgeting or like staring out the window and was like, oh, I think there's she might have something wrong with her. Why don't you get her checked out?
So you get on ADHD medication at the age of seven, and then how old were you when the next medication was recommended? And what was that medication?
So I was put on the stimulant Ritalin, and those caused very severe, like adverse effects. They were very stimulating. And at the end of the day, they left me very agitated and moody and angry in ways that were completely out of character for me. So really instead of recognizing those changes as adverse drug effects, they were interpreted as evidence that something else was psychologically wrong with me. So they were saying
Little Danielle at seven years old has depression or anxiety and now we need to give her an antidepressant.
Exactly.
That's exactly what happened.
And so that quickly spiraled into a cascade of antidepressants, benzodiazepines, mood stabilizers, and antipsychotics all before I was in uh even ten years old.
Before you were ten years old, you were on multiple antidepressants, benzos, antipsychotics?
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
How did Danielle’s experience with antidepressants begin in childhood?
0:00–8:03
2
What triggered Danielle’s first severe withdrawal crisis and how did it feel?
8:03–15:24
3
How did doctors misinterpret her withdrawal symptoms as worsening mental illness?
15:24–23:32
4
What strategies did Danielle use to create a safe, ultra‑slow taper after years of medication?
23:32–31:27
5
How has long‑term SSRI use affected her romantic life, sexuality, and emotional range?
31:27–39:38
6
What is PSSD and why is it missing from FDA drug labels?
39:38–48:04
7
How is Danielle helping change policy and raise awareness for withdrawal injuries?
48:04–56:47
8
What can listeners do to support informed consent and share this story?
56:47–1:03:58
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark
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