Shoshanna Silverberg's blog

This is my first post since graduating. I’ll be doing more on the job front soon, but for now I wanted to re-invigorate HTK’s posts by creating one for a friend. He contacted me this morning because now that the bar exam is over, now that he has obtained employment, now that his life is really taking off, he is leaving anti-anxiety medication behind. What he is wondering is, where does he start in his journey of using mindfulness meditation? What’s my advice on beginning a practice for stress relief that does not rely on pharmaceuticals? As someone who has used mindfulness at two major junctures of her life to transition out of pharmie use (the first time getting off depressants as a teenager, the second getting off of stimulants as an adult), I have some perspective to offer…

My first response to this is a simple congratulations. It’s a HUGE deal to allow oneself to separate from a substance that has brought relief in the past. It’s almost like a re-invention of yourself, and it requires a willingness — a sense of bravery — to embark on such a journey. There are probably many reasons for this, but one anyway is that change does not come easily for most of us. Generally we initiate change in our lives because we feel we have no other choice. Something isn’t working, in this case, pharmaceutical medication. Perhaps it did work in some ways, but ultimately, it is not enhancing the quality of our lives anymore.

This video is a surface-scratching.  It’s almost like there is this subterranean tunnel that it feels like some us humans can often do little but claw at through a thick layer of dirt.  Our goal is gaining access to what feel like pathways toward truth, whatever that is, although for me, it means access to healing for all.  And that is justice.

An intense analogy, I know, but this video is me beginning to claw in a public forum.  It is also an invitation for others to begin following this thread of conversation so we can build more pathways of communication, & eventually, the conversation can more and more happen aboveground.  I’m nervous to share, but it feels important…