Rotary Ann’s explore the dangers of prescription drugs
An author shares a message about the dangers of prescription medication.
Felicity Bielovich, who is an author, motivational speaker, counsellor and drug addiction survivor, was the guest speaker at the Springs Park Rotary Ann’s meeting, at Riverside Country Estate, on Saturday.
Her talk delivered a hard-hitting message about the dangers of prescription medication.
She says her addiction to prescription medication began many years ago after she fell and broke her pelvis and was unable to walk for three months.
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“I was given medication for pain by my doctor.
“After noticing the medication wasn’t helping for the pain, I went back to the doctor to see if he couldn’t prescribe something stronger,” Felicity says.
Eighteen months later and still on pain medication, she became suicidal.
Felicity spent three and a half months in hospital where she underwent treatment.
“No amount of treatment led to a diagnosis,” she says.
“Doctors said I was a depressive personality and I accepted that.
“It was the start to all the drama in my life.
One evening, after feeling as though she was having a mental breakdown, Felicity took off into the dark in the area surrounding their home in Houghton.
After that incident, she was committed to Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital.
She says the mistake many people make once they discover they suffer from depression, or any psychological illness, is accepting the labels society places on them.
“I wasn’t mentally ill,” Felicity says.
She believes many people suffer from Iatrogenic illness, a condition caused by medication, which is what happened to her.
“I wasn’t sick, it was the medication I was on that made me sick.
“We accept these illnesses and turn them into our reality.”
People often ask her how she has been able to put her life together after years of being diagnosed with depression.
“I had lost everything, even the trust of my family and friends because they didn’t understand what I was going through.
“I had to make a decision to fight for my life,” she says.
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Felicity encouraged women to speak out and not to believe there is no one to listen to their problems.
“There are many people walking around with emotional scars who put on a brave face when they are actually dying inside.”
Her advice is to speak out and seek help from your church or a counsellor.
