At MISSD, we regularly feature and amplify first-person accounts that illuminate the very real risks of adverse med effects—particularly the torment of akathisia and protracted withdrawal syndromes. Lori Daniels’ latest essay, ‘I Can Barely Breathe: The Journey Continues,’ is one such account. She was entangled in a system amid a circle of misdiagnosis—beginning with a coerced introduction to neuroleptics as a teenager and a cocktail of drugs that treated side effects with more side effects.

Her description of ongoing symptoms (akathisia, dystonia, myoclonic jerks, insomnia, and the sense that ‘breathing’ itself must be redefined) aligns with what countless others have reported when attempting to withdraw from long-term psychiatric drug use. Too often, these symptoms are dismissed or misattributed back to the original ‘disorder.’ We are grateful for voices like Lori’s and her full story that can help reduce these avoidable harms.