Pharmaceutical Phobia and Medication Dependency

By Jody Elford

We need to talk about medication dependency.

Dangerous? Sometimes. Unpredictable? Often. Addictive? Most of the time.

Medications used in attempts to treat mental ill-health cause mixed feelings. They often cause side effects, some of which can be dramatic. Many can actually make mental illness symptoms worse before they make them better. That’s when they work at all.

Everyone reacts differently to these medications that literally mess with your brain. They change its chemistry in sometimes remarkably unpredictable ways. Results can be mixed, with many of us having to suffer through several medication changes before finding one that our body tolerates. We have to just hope it actually helps us get better.

So why the controversy?

“Surely!” the pharmaceutical-phobics cry, “we should be focusing on what’s making us all so unhappy in the first place. We should be building our resilience, rather than throwing drugs at it?”

It is with a sense of incredulous outrage that these people comment so briskly about something they clearly have no fucking idea about whatsoever.

These people usually end on totally ridiculous statements like, “Life without drugs is better, I think.”

They might say, “I think it’s better to find a way to get better naturally.”

And even, “You can’t just pop pills and expect miracles – the real cure lies in yourself,”

More ridiculously, you may hear, “I believe you make your own happiness.”

“Life without having to rely on medication is better”

Whoa.

Hold up, everyone, we’ve got Sherlock bloody Holmes over here.

I forget how much diabetics just love stabbing themselves when they eat. It slips my mind that people with sensory problems love wearing glasses and hearing aids. Of course they love relying on other people or animals to help them do stuff.

I always avoid painkillers when a migraine makes me want to shoot myself in the face.

I’m being facetious, obviously, but my point stands.

OF COURSE it’s better if you don’t need medication, but some of us do. Some of us literally rely on medication to do little things, such as not dying.

Medication that helps someone think and behave in a way they find functional is no different to medication that helps someone with chronic pain or long-term illness. It helps them function without wanting to take a long walk off a short precipice.

It is my opinion that my medication is an absolutely vital weapon in my arsenal. Without those pills helping my brain handle my neurotransmitters more effectively, all the other work and therapeutic activity would be pointless. I wouldn’t engage with it at all.

Has it fixed me? Of course not. No more than insulin cures a diabetic person or phenobarbitol “fixes” an epileptic person. It helps me manage my condition.

Literal life-savers

The real key and most important thing to take home here is that the idiots that criticise medication dependency aren’t just totally deluded. They’re not just people who lack true empathy and don’t understand. Often they are people who have never had these medications and how they work properly explained to them. They may have had poor experiences with them or been too scared to go on them.

Sometimes they, or someone they know, or someone they read about, may have unrealistic expectations of these medicines. That leads them to think they don’t work, or that they’re actually bad for us. So it’s important that people consider some key things about medication. People should think before putting someone off starting meds or criticising people who rely on these literal life-savers.

They are not magic beans

Or happy pills. Or capsules of fairy dust.

They are medications. Medications that try to take a pretty broad approach to combating varied, challenging and complex problems. Sometimes they do well and other times they do not.

It is in part our role as patients to help our doctors assess how mental health medications impact on us and how effective they are at helping us reach mental health “betterness.”

And if you try a medication for five days and you’re experiencing physical side effects, revisit your healthcare professional.

It’s also important to remember that if you persevere for three weeks and see no improvement, revisit. And if you’ve been on your meds three to four months and feel unstable again, revisit.

If you’ve been on them for any time and now think you don’t need them – REVISIT.

Work in partnership with your healthcare professionals to find a medication that works for you, your body and your mind.

They are not lone-rangers

Painkillers alone don’t fix a broken bone. They play their role in the overall treatment of the patient with the broken bone.

Med-critics will say that “throwing drugs” at mental health issues, especially less severe (note: not less important) issues such as stress and low mood, is not the answer.

The problem is, they’re trying to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Will antidepressants alone cure you? Probably not. I mean it’s very, very unlikely. Unless you’re engaging in other areas of treatment (whatever that means to you) and working on shedding less adaptive and healthy behaviours, you’re not gonna get anywhere.

In that respect, the pharmaceutical phobics are right. You really can’t just take a pill or five a day and expect your mental illness to disappear without any effort or input.

They can make you ill

Like. Seriously, dude.

Name almost any medication for any ailment and you’ll probably find horror stories. We all react differently to medications and chemicals. A good example of this is overdosing. What will threaten the life of one person doesn’t even require treatment in another.

If you suspect your medication is making you physically ill, talk to your doctor. It might be something that will resolve over time, or maybe it’s just not the drug for you.

Many pharmaceuticals come in various forms, kind of like wearing different outfits. Just because your body hates one type of certain medication, doesn’t mean it will hate them all.

All food doesn’t upset your tummy. Some foods do, or too much of certain foods, right?

It can take ages to find the right one

Or the combination that works for you, personally.

During this time you need to just ignore the pharmaceutical phobics. Listen to your mind and your body and just see what works, or doesn’t, for you. Also, listen to your healthcare professionals, and don’t give up!

They can make things awful

This is an important one.

Many drugs that are used to treat mental illnesses can make matters worse before they get better.

It is usually only temporary, though, and if you can get through the initial “loading period” then you’ll probably be alright. If you’ve been experiencing bad thoughts or urges, make sure your doctor knows at the time of prescribing you anything. They won’t chuck you in hospital, I promise, but they must know.

When you’re unstable is often not the best time to start new meds. Organise time with people (or just one person) that you can rely on to keep an eye out for worsening of your mood and mental state. Some of us don’t experience anything at all, but it’s best to be safe and have help close at hand should you need it.

Don’t stop them

Just don’t. For any reason.

Seriously.

Sudden cessation of this sort of medication has the potential to make you feel devastatingly ill. Many can cause serious withdrawal. This is why so many of the anti-gang feel that they are dangerous and addictive medications that you get hooked on.

These people need to realise that this is healthcare, not heroin. IF the time comes for you to begin coming off your medication you will follow your doctor’s advice to the letter. Won’t you? Of course you will.

Don’t stop them because you feel wonky again “so they’re obviously not working anyway.” Also, don’t stop them because you’re feeling much better and “don’t need them anymore.”  Please, don’t stop them because they’re making you feel unwell.

Go to your doctor.

Putting stock in someone’s opinion is not compulsory

You are not obliged to take your Mom’s advice. And you are not obliged to take your colleague’s thoughts on medication dependency as gospel truth.

Someone else’s experiences with mental illness medication is not the truth, it’s theirs.

You need to work out what is right for you. Also, you need only tell people, “Well, me and my doctor/therapist/psychiatrist have agreed that this medication is right for me at this time.”

I rely on my medication and I am dependent on it. Sertraline isn’t addictive in the true sense, but I’d definitely suffer withdrawal if I stopped it. Also, I need it to help me function and to help me stay alive.

I need it.

It’s as simple as that.

Stop putting people off getting help. Please.

Reproduced with permission, originally posted on mentalbabble

UNITED STATES

UNITED KINGDOM