Most psychiatrists see the use of medications as part of an overall treatment plan. Compare a person suffering from mental illness to a person suffering from a physical illness like diabetes. Depending on the severity of the diabetes, they may need medication but weight loss and healthy diet are also crucial.
Some people view the taking of psychiatric medicines with suspicion. Are they any different from street drugs? Are they addictive? Will they mess with my mind? Surely I can fix the problem on my own?
The truth is that psychiatric medications are not like street drugs; they are made with strict quality control over their contents and almost none of them are addictive. Some of them work directly on the chemical processes in the brain that cause anxiety, depression or psychosis. None of them provide a quick fix. A quick fix is rare outside home DIY television shows.
What about side effects? All medicines have the potential to cause side effects in the taker. Not everyone gets them, and sometimes they are short-lived. Each person must balance the benefits of taking the medicine with any adverse effects.
Are they just a crutch for people to rely on? In a way, yes they are. Like we use crutches for broken legs until they heal, go to physiotherapy to build up strength and then walk on our own again. Medicine can help until a person’s mind is able to work on its own again.
Here is an example of how a medication might be used to treat mental illness. Dean is an adolescent who suffers from severe panic attacks. Some days he can’t leave the house and his attendance at school is patchy. The severity of the panic lessens considerably when he smokes marijuana, so he is often at home alone doing just that. However, the marijuana also makes his thoughts markedly paranoid. Ideally Dean’s best bet would be to stop smoking marijuana and have psychological therapy for his panic attacks, but he’s not willing to do that because it would make his panic worse in the short term and he can’t face it. A psychiatrist prescribes him a medicine that lessens the intensity of his panic attacks. It works enough so he can get out and go to school without fearing a full-blown panic attack. He sees his friends again and he is cutting down on marijuana. The next step will be psychological therapy and addressing the marijuana use, and if that goes well he will be ready to phase out medication.
