A big reason that people who are prescribed medication for a mental health issue end up not taking the medication is because of a mental road block set up by society. Although more and more people are accepting that it is better to get help with mental health issues rather than struggle every day, society is still a big factor for many people.
“Pull yourself up by your bootstraps”, “just be positive”, and “ just try harder” are all things that people with mental health issues hear all the time. Believe me, people with mental health issues tend to be some of the people in life who work the hardest at these things. However there are certain things that just require medication and/or therapy.
You wouldn’t tell someone who needs glasses to “just try harder” to see, would you? If I knew someone who needed glasses wasn’t wearing their glasses when they pick me up in their car, I wouldn’t be getting in the car with them. That’s because we all know that there are so many medical issues that need medical help. Since we can often times see medical issues, people don’t question them as much.
What it feels like to take medication:
Different medication will feel differently based on what you are taking it for. Some medications work right away and other medications have to “build up” in your system and take 4-10 weeks to kick in. This isn’t the “what it feels like” that I am talking about. The “what it feels like” that I am talking about is how it feels to physically open the bottle, take out your prescribed dose, and put the medication in your mouth. This is the moment that stops people from continuing with medication.
Things to keep in mind:
Often times people describe to me how every negative thing they have ever heard about medication comes up at the very moment they need to take the medication. My advice to you is to remember that you went to a trained medical professional to get advice and you are following their advice.
Remember that once your medication starts actually helping you, it will be easier to not care what others might think.
Remember that a lot of celebrities and famous athletes take mental health medication. Google “celebrities who take medication” to find a list so that you can see who else in the world is putting their quality of life above the beliefs of people they don’t even know.
You are important and your happiness is important. We need people in the world who will take care of themselves and spread the message to other people that it is okay to want a better quality of life and it is okay to get some help to get to that happy place.
I am a mental health therapist in Long Beach, California. I am not a medical doctor and therefore none of the information in this blog post should be taken as medical advice. Please always make sure you only take medication that is prescribed to you and if you think you should be taking more or less of a medication, to consult with your medical doctor because you should not start, stop or change dosage of medication without your doctors advice.