Mental health treatment is too often surrounded by stigma. There’s an idea that your mental health must be critical in order to receive mental health support, but the truth is that your mental health is just as important to attend to as your physical health.
For mental illness, the two primary treatments are therapy and medication. While both face their own forms of stigma, psychiatry and medication management are often discredited or looked at with suspicion based on misinformation. So let’s demystify mental health treatment, in particular the role of psychiatry in mental healthcare.
The Role of Psychiatry and Medication in Mental Healthcare
Once you receive a mental health evaluation and a diagnosis, the next step is to decide what to do about it. Just like physical illnesses, mental illnesses require treatments in order to manage symptoms and improve your quality of life. Without treatment, symptoms will likely worsen and could even become deadly.
One of the options you may be given for mental health treatments is medication. Medication is prescribed by a psychiatrist to help address any chemical imbalances that might impact your mental health. For instance, antidepressants often work by increasing serotonin levels in the brain. By addressing the chemical imbalance, they can help to reduce symptoms and make them more manageable.
This can go hand-in-hand with therapy. As medication works to reduce symptoms, therapy can equip you with coping skills to help you manage the symptoms you do experience. On the other hand, some patients may prefer to use medication alone. Both of these can be valid paths.
Misconceptions About Psychiatry and Medication Management
One common weapon of stigma is misinformation. Many patients whose qualities of life could be improved by medication feel hesitant to try medication based on things they may have heard from friends, family, or coworkers. Let’s break down some of the misconceptions about psychiatry and medication management.
#1 - “You’ll Become Addicted To Psychiatric Medication”
While it’s not impossible to become addicted to psychiatric medication, it’s no more likely than any other medication — and much less likely than with illegal, uncontrolled substances. Psychiatric medication is prescribed by your psychiatrist in controlled doses based on the severity of your symptoms. By having regular check-ins with your psychiatrist, you can ensure you’re taking the dosage you need.
Of course, if you feel that you’re experiencing feelings of addiction, you should reach out to your psychiatrist immediately. However, this is not common and should not deter you from getting the help you need.
#2 - “Your Medication Will Change You As a Person”
You may have heard this one or worried about it yourself: that your medication will make you feel numb or change your personality completely. While you should certainly tell your therapist how your medication makes you feel, good or bad, no psychiatric medication will completely change your personality. Instead, it will help to reduce disruptive mental illness symptoms that get in the way of who you want to be and of your life worth living. It makes life more manageable, so you can be more yourself.
#3 - “Psychiatric Meds Are Just Placebos”
This is a long-lasting and harmful misconception about medication: the idea that psychiatric medication doesn’t actually do anything and that any changes are simply the result of the placebo effect, the suggestion that a change has occurred.
This has been proven untrue by research time and time again. A number of studies have given some patients placebo pills while others were given medication in order to see the difference. The results have shown that the medication makes a difference. It may not be an immediate difference, and it may take the psychiatrist and patient time to find the right medication for them. But the difference is very real.
#4 - “Taking a Walk is Better For Your Mental Health Than Taking Medication"
Taking a walk is excellent for your mental health! However, when you struggle with depression, it may be difficult to motivate yourself to take a walk. Antidepressants can actually help reduce those feelings of lethargy and brain fog, giving you the energy you need to go out and take a walk or socialize with friends or engage in your hobbies. All things that can be a boon to your mental health. For some, however, that has to start with medication.
#5 - “It’s Weak To Take Medication For Mental Illness”
There is nothing weak about getting the help you need to manage your mental health symptoms. In fact, given the stigma that exists surrounding mental health, the decision to receive treatment can be a brave one. Mental illness is not something that you should simply “tough out.” Like any other illness, if left unattended it can fester and worsen. The longer you go without treatment, the more it interferes with your life, making the decision to get treatment both brave and sensible.
#6 - “Mental Illnesses Aren’t Real”
Again, extensive research has shown that mental illnesses are very real and have real impacts on the lives of the patient. Mental illnesses can be caused by chemical imbalances in the brain as well as trauma. Repeated studies have shown that those with mental illnesses experience the world differently because of their illnesses than those without. But regardless of whether someone on the internet believes it’s “real” or not, if you’re in pain, you deserve to heal. That’s what mental health treatment can offer.
Rivia Mind works with a number of skilled and compassionate psychiatrists and other mental health clinicians here to help you get the mental health treatment you need. Visit our provider page to schedule an appointment or contact us today to learn more. Visit our medication management page to learn more about this treatment plan and our philosophy care.
