Introducing Astrid

[Chris]

Astrid, though I succeeded to maintain most of my friends, there is one with whom I also chose to quit any contact. He is working for the farmaceutical industry and dismissed my story as complete nonsense and literally laughed at it. .

When I wanted to taper, I called around to various pharmacies to inquire about compounding and liquids for taper; when I explained to the pharmacist how sensitive I am to slightest taper, he laughed. He said he has heard this from other people but he laughed because it's so absurd to him. WHen you hear something from various people independently (they didn't conspire to make it up), a rational person would think there might be something to it.
Hence, the nervous laugh --pretty inappropriate way for a professional pharmacist to respond to a patient's distress. and in other siituations--even with hyprocondriacs--a pharmacist might be more patronizing, but this situation cuts a little to close to the bone--hence the involuntary laugh.
A pharmacist who literally abets this scourge many times a day would laugh nervously to brush it off, rather than take it seriously--too much cognitive dissonance.