MEDICATION AND YOUR MENTAL HEALTH
Written By: Amanda Swisher, LPC
You know something is wrong. You know you need to see someone about what you’re going through. But you just can’t bring yourself to do it. A common reason that I hear in my office is the fear that I am going to tell them they are in need of medication. Stigma around mental health and medication persists and it can be a major blocker for a lot of people in need of services. But how much do we really have to worry about here?
Medication: Yes or No?
No one can tell you definitively whether to take medication for your condition or not. But, the decision to take medication can be influenced by a lot of factors, few of them being more important than stigma. Mental health has been vilified and misunderstood for years. Afterall, it’s all in your head right? Wrong. But often that is the misconception that has bred so much of the negative beliefs surrounding mental illness.
Thankfully, people are starting to understand and be more open to the idea that mental health is just as important as medical health. But many people worry that taking medications for a mental health diagnosis may make them appear weak because they can’t manage their problem on their own. If they just worked harder, then they would have it all together.The reality is, these medications treat the symptoms of a legitimate medical condition, as it works to alter certain chemistries within the brain, just like medication alters chemistries, hormones, enzymes, etc., within the body for a physical condition. Are you considered weak if you were to take medication for your high blood pressure? Probably not, considering not taking that medication may severely harm you. It’s no different with psychotropic medication.
Another fear is that medication will somehow alter an individual's personality, or make them numb to the world. As an exercise, let’s take a look at depression. Motivation, concentration, even the will/ability to get out of bed can be nonexistent. The same is true for many mental health diagnoses, because they drain energy and impair functioning. Medication can alleviate those symptoms, removing the numbness that often accompanies mental health conditions. And if it doesn’t, then that is a beautiful opportunity to talk to your doctor, because not every medication is going to work the exact same for every person. There’s wiggle room to find the medication that works right for you.
Lastly, people often fear that medication is simply going to mask the problem, rather than fixing it. Medication for mental health, and for a lot of physical health conditions if we’re being honest, is not a miracle cure. It won’t produce an instantaneous improvement in mood. Many of these medications produce change over time as the medication is allowed to build up in the system. And realistically, medication alone is not always the most effective. For many disorders, like anxiety and depression, the most efficacious treatment includes medication AND mental health counseling, the combination sometimes being more effective than either one of them on their own.
Benefits of Medication
When we think about the benefits of adding medication, there are a couple that come to mind immediately. The biggest benefit is that they are going to help reduce the symptoms that make life unmanageable, such as constant, debilitating anxiety, or reocurring, intrusive, negative thoughts.
The best benefit is going to be seen through combining medication and psychotherapy. Remember, medication isn’t a miracle cure, and may not be as effective on its own. I like to think of it like this: medication helps bring your baseline functioning up so you can engage in and utilize the skills taught in therapy. One of my least favorite responses from physicians when a client tells them that they are depressed is: “How much are you exercising? You should be doing that more.” Okay… I understand… but if I’m so depressed I can’t get out of bed (the baseline), how the hell am I going to get to the gym, or outside to work out? This is where medication can be most effective. It helps alleviate the symptoms keeping you in bed, and raises that baseline functioning so you are on a more even playing field.
Lastly, medication, especially when combined with psychotherapy, is going to help lower the risk of relapse. Relapse is a normal phenomenon in mental health, and it’s not just for talking about alcohol and substance abuse. But it can leave us feeling less than great about ourselves, like maybe we’re not doing as well as we thought we were. But with medication, it can be easier to recognize what is going on, and allow that relapse to be a bump in the road and not a roadblock that can’t be worked through. You’ll have that baseline functioning up so you can utilize what you’ve discovered and learned from therapy to help you work through it.
Negative Effects of Medication
I’ve got to be honest, I did some digging and it was actually pretty difficult to find reputable sources that provided any kind of negative effect of combining medication and therapy. In fact, the majority of the research I did find all pointed towards medication and therapy being the best way to treat mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.
If I had to give an answer, I would say that one possible negative effect is that the medication you are trying simply doesn’t work. As mentioned before, every medication works a little differently for every person, and while the solution is trying something different until you find the right one, the reality is that this can be exhausting. Especially if you’ve been at it for a while. It’s easy to feel hopeless in a situation such as this and give up before going through all possible options.
Another possible negative effect would of course be side effects. Anxiety and depression medications (as well as any medication really) have a laundry list of possible side effects, such as:
Decreased alertness
Nausea
Tooth decay and oral health complications
Suicidal feelings
Hypomania or mania
Headaches
And those are just the side effects that don’t come with a clinical name attached to them.
If you are considering medication, it is important to review with your doctor what possible side effects you could experience. They will have more of an idea when it comes to what medication you are specifically looking at. Then it’s up to you! It is your responsibility and right to make the best possible decision for yourself and your life. If the side effects are too concerning or you find them not worth the risk, then that is your choice and no one can make it for you.
Whatever you decide, make sure that you are the one who is most comfortable with it. Don’t feel pressured by any one person to begin medication or stop. If you find yourself in a situation where someone is really pushing meds, then it’s probably a good idea to get a second opinion. You’re the one that has to live with the decision and no one else. Just make sure you evaluate the good against the bad and have all the information that you need so you can make the best decision for you.
