Stage and season
Restarting after a break
A restart is an ordinary shape. Nobody here is surprised.
This circle exists because it kept happening and had no name. People stop — for money, for side effects, for a shortage, for life — and then months later they think about starting again, and they arrive braced for judgement that never comes.
It is astonishing how much shame people carry about a restart, and how quickly it dissolves when six other people say "yes, me, twice".
Who this circle is for
- You are restarting after any length of gap
- You are thinking about it and dreading the conversation
- You have restarted before and can describe what was different the second time
Agreements here
- No apologising for a gap. Not to us, not to yourself
- We treat the restart as a fresh start clinically — which means new questions for your prescriber, not old assumptions
The shame was the worst side effect
Inês13 replies
Starting a thread on this because it keeps coming up in ones and twos: The shame was the worst side effect Writing this partly to ask and partly because writing it down usually tells me…
I stopped when my dad got ill. He died in March. I start again on Tuesday
Nev8 replies
Grimsby. Quiet bloke, posting anyway, and this is more than I have written in two years on here. My dad went into hospital in October and it turned into the whole winter. I was up and down…
Restarting on a different medication entirely
Mable15 replies
Restarting on a different medication entirely Writing it down partly to work out what I actually think. I have been reading here for a few weeks and have not posted, so this is me posting.…
A shortage forced my gap and my body noticed
Gwen D13 replies
Starting a thread on this because it keeps coming up in ones and twos: A shortage forced my gap and my body noticed Long one, sorry. I have been chewing on this for a fortnight. My…
What was different the second time
Nerys17 replies
What was different the second time Writing it down partly to work out what I actually think. Writing this partly to ask and partly because writing it down usually tells me what I think.…
Restarting after a hospital admission
Ottilie17 replies
Restarting after a hospital admission — putting it in its own thread so it does not get lost in the check-in. I have been reading here for a few weeks and have not posted, so this is me…
My prescriber wanted me to begin at the lowest dose and she was right
Mable19 replies
Something I have been sitting with: My prescriber wanted me to begin at the lowest dose and she was right Not looking for advice so much as other people's experience. I have been reading…
Eight months away. I have written this post four times
Izzy8 repliesfacilitator note
Watford. Between doses, between jobs, between plans, which I wrote in a jokey way in 2024 and which has turned out to be an accurate description of an entire year. I stopped in March.…
It was easier than I feared and I want that on the record
Ottilie16 replies
A question rather than an update: It was easier than I feared and I want that on the record Long one, sorry. I have been chewing on this for a fortnight. My prescriber has been fine,…
My gap was six weeks and I still felt like a fraud coming back
Gwen D16 replies
My gap was six weeks and I still felt like a fraud coming back — putting it in its own thread so it does not get lost in the check-in. I have been reading here for a few weeks and have not…
Eight months away and I am back, bracing myself
Nikolai22 replies
Eight months away and I am back, bracing myself — putting it in its own thread so it does not get lost in the check-in. I have been reading here for a few weeks and have not posted, so…
Restarting at 58 after a knee replacement
Nikolai19 replies
Restarting at 58 after a knee replacement Writing it down partly to work out what I actually think. I do not know if this belongs in this circle. Move me if not. I am aware some of this…
Restarting after a year off — the side effects came back like new
Nikolai14 replies
Starting a thread on this because it keeps coming up in ones and twos: Restarting after a year off — the side effects came back like new Writing this partly to ask and partly because…
Do you start from the bottom again
Bobbie11 replies
Starting a thread on this because it keeps coming up in ones and twos: Do you start from the bottom again Writing this partly to ask and partly because writing it down usually tells me…