The subject of this master’s thesis is the process of coming off psychiatric drugs from the user's point of view. The theoretical section describes the historical context of psychiatry mainly in light of the appearance of psychiatric drugs and its impact on the design of modern psychiatric services. It goes on to define psychopharmaceuticals, their actions and effects, and outlines the concept of personal recovery from mental health problems from the point of view of the psychosocial model and the current knowledge about the process of coming off psychiatric drugs. The purpose of the master's thesis is to better understand how people who use psychiatric drugs come off them, regardless of whether they have the support of psychiatrists and other professionals or have set out on this path themselves (without support). The empirical part consists of a qualitative and quantitative approach. The quantitative part was comprised of an online questionnaire with a sample of 124 people who have come off, are currently coming off, or used to come off psychiatric drugs, but are now taking them regularly. Eight interviews were conducted within the qualitative part. The data obtained from the online questionnaire were processed in the statistical program, and the interviews were analyzed in terms of content. The findings of qualitative work show that the decision to come off psychiatric drugs is a complex intertwining of various factors that either enable or hinder the process: personal orientation, past experiences with coming off drugs, fears, environmental pressures, forms of support, etc. The results of the quantitative analysis suggest that coming off psychiatric drugs is more difficult for people who have used them for longer periods of time. At the same time, these individuals also experience more unpleasant and difficult withdrawal effects.
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