Breaking the stigma of mental health medications
Good morning!
When we talk about taking medication for body-related illnesses, everything usually go well, saying you’re taking heart medication or anything else and nobody bat an eye- it’s normal. Anti-depressant or anything in the mental-related field? Ohno we don’t talk about those!
Like any other part of our bodies, the brain is allowed to have illnesses or “defects”, thus medication might be required.
*To each their own, if you choose not to go that way yet, or at all, that’s absolutely fine. As long as you don’t take anyone else’s choice away.
No matter the field, body or mental-related, medication can be a pain. There’ll be side-effects for a few months, some maybe too much than what we bargained for.. although the body need some time to adjust.
We might need a few tries to get the perfect medication combo- heck just for mother’s anti-rejects it took her 3 tries; unfortunate, but sometimes necessary. However the mental-field, and especially anxiety & depression, tend to be under-specialised. I mean that the medication we do have works.. in a way we don’t know why. They were for something else completely, and happened to work on us, so they kept it. I was devastated to learn there’s no new research for more because it’s not a money-gig. Surprising considering it’s on the rise though..
You might decide to hop on them for a short period of time, or you may keep them forever. The thinking that those medication makes you numb is absolutely false, so is you being “addicted” to them.
In the type that i’m taking, SSRIs, they actually block some of your receptors so the serotonin stays “floating” longer, getting the sense of having more available. I’d even argue that normal functioning brain are also dependent on the substance.. but their brain can actually provide it.
I’ve been taking my medication for almost a decade now; finding out that my Estrogen hormones were also messing up my brain, it was a challenge to get the right anti-depressant & contraception pill combo. My most recent demand for a higher dose was in 2020 I wanna say? Which was because of the whole Covid happening.. it’s no brainer that I needed more, really, quite a valid moment to be anxious and under the weather.
To be completely honest with you… I’d be afraid of getting off them. Unfortunately for me, I know they’re still there in the shadows; anxiety & depression comes to show their faces once in a while. Currently ruminating over what i’m doing with my life as I’m nearing the big 30.. I can tell you I feel mostly okay and happy. I feel normal.
To give you an idea, think of a scale line going from -10, 0 & 10, 10 being the light and negative being your rock-bottom. I faintly remember being around -10 every. Day. I had those wild thoughts that it was always gonna be that way, that i’m never gonna find hapiness.. and here I am now, I’d say 7 or 8. Maybe 5 on a bad day.. but that’s still considerably higher than before. It feels “level” where i’m more in control and not in the darkness at all! I am wiser that it will pass.
Do I wonder who i’d be without both of those meds? Yeah.. I do. But i’m terrified of touching ANYTHING that it might go back where I was. My body aged, and so did my temperament, but I wouldn’t dare. The way our brain work, we tend to wanna get off them when we “feel better”. Getting the sense that we don’t need them.
And that’s a trick! The reason why you feel that was is BECAUSE the meds are working. Always communicate your doubts with your doctor first. NEVER go cold turkey, as it’s quite dangerous. Iknow for mine, if I even just skip a dose by mistake I do get dizzy… easy way to know I effed up 😅
There is nothing wrong with needing to take daily medication for our brains, even if it’s for the rest of your life. All that matter is how you feel with them. How better you are with them ❤️
Talking about mental health awareness & medication to break the stigma is a must! Stop the topic from being a taboo- iknow I talk about those whenever I can, anywhere, always.