Medications for Psychiatric Disorders
Medications are some of the most powerful tools available for reducing symptoms and decreasing the risk of relapses. When people take medications regularly as part of their treatment, they are less affected by symptoms and are less likely to have relapses. Medications reduce biological vulnerability by helping to correct the chemical imbalance in the brain, which leads to symptoms. When people take medications as part of their treatment, they usually: - Experience symptoms less often or less intensely.
- Concentrate better and think more clearly.
- Fall asleep more easily and sleep more restfully.
- Accomplish more of their goals.
You need to make informed decisions about all treatment options, including medication. In making your decision about medications, it is important to learn as much as you can and to weigh the possible benefits and possible drawbacks of taking medication. Your doctor is vital to your decision-making process. She or he is an expert about medication and has experience helping others find effective medications. However, it is also important for you to be very active in making decisions about medication. After all, you are the expert about your own experience of mental illness and what makes you feel better or worse. Therefore, the best method for making a decision involves a partnership between you and your doctor. It helps to have some questions in mind when you are deciding about taking medication or switching medications. - How will this medication benefit me? What will it help me with?
- How long does it take the medication to work? How long before I feel some of the benefits?
- What side effects might I get from the medicine? Are there any side effects from long-term use?
- What can be done if I get side effects?
- Will I need blood tests to make sure that I have the right level of the medication in my bloodstream?
- What if the medication doesn't work for me?
People have different beliefs about medication, based on their culture, their family background, and their own experience. Some people have strong positive beliefs about medications. It helps to be aware of your own beliefs about medications, because they can interfere with your being objective. For example, if you have strong positive beliefs about medication, you might not ask enough questions about side effects. If you have strong negative beliefs, you might not find out enough about how the medicine could benefit you. Medication has been found to be helpful in two important ways: - reducing symptoms during and after an acute episode of the illness
- reducing the chances of having episodes in the future.
Reducing symptoms during an acute episode When the symptoms of mental illness are the most severe and troublesome, it is usually described as being a relapse or an acute episode of the illness. The experience of having relapses varies widely from person to person. Some individuals have only one or a few acute episodes, while others have them more often. During and after an acute episode, medications can help reduce the severity of the symptoms. Sometimes the medicine helps people quite rapidly, and they are able to relax, think more clearly, and feel less depressed in a few days. Other times it may take a few weeks before the symptoms are reduced significantly. Reducing the likelihood of relapses Taking medication on a regular basis helps people prevent relapses of severe symptoms. Taking medication is not a cure for mental illness, and there is no guarantee that you will not have an acute episode again. However, for most people, taking medication on a regular basis significantly reduces their risk of relapses and hospitalizations. Different kinds of medications help different types of symptoms. There are several different types of psychiatric symptoms, and more than one medication may be required to treat them. There are four major categories of medications, which are commonly used to treat major mental illnesses. Medications and Their Benefits
Medication Category |
Possible benefits |
Antidepressants |
Can reduce the symptoms of depression, including low mood, poor appetite, sleep problems, low energy and difficulty concentrating. They can also be effective in treating anxiety disorders. |
Mood stabilizers |
Can help reduce extremes of moods, including mania and depression |
Antipsychotic medications |
Can reduce the symptoms of psychosis, including hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized speech or behavior. |
Antianxiety and sedative medications |
Can reduce anxiety, feeling overstimulated, and difficulty sleeping |
It is important to be informed about both the potential benefits and the potential side effects of the specific medication that you have been prescribed. Medications for mental illness, like drugs for treating other illnesses, can cause undesired side effects. Medication affects people in different ways. Some people may have only a few side effects or no side effects at all from their medication. Others taking the same medication may have significant side effects. Your reaction to medication depends on many factors, including your age, weight, sex, metabolic rate, and other medicines you might be taking. In most cases, the side effects are temporary, and improve over time as your body adjusts to the medication. Some types of side effects, which are much less common, can be long lasting and even permanent. The newer medications tend to have fewer and less severe side effects. The more serious side effects are associated with the older antipsychotic medications, such as haldol, stelazine and thorazine. If you recognize that you are having side effects, it is important to call your doctor as soon as possible. Your doctor needs to help you evaluate how serious the side effects are and what can be done about them. It is up to you to decide what side effects you can tolerate and what risks you are willing to accept. When you have side effects, your doctor may advise you to try one of the following: reduce the dose of the medication, add another medication for the side effect, or switch to another medication. There are also some coping strategies for dealing with side effects that help reduce the discomfort or counteract the side effects. Many people find that it can be difficult to remember to take medications regularly. Here are some ideas that might help you to fit taking medications into your regular routine. It is important to tailor these strategies to meet your own needs. - Simplify your medication schedule as much as possible.
When you take several medications several times each day, it becomes difficult to keep track of all the doses. Talk to your doctor about making your medication schedule as simple as possible. The fewer the medications you have to take and the fewer the number of times per day, the easier it is to keep track.
- Take medications at the same time every day.
Taking the medication at the same time (or times) every day makes it easier to remember. It also keeps the level of medication at a steady level in your bloodstream, which gives you maximum benefit throughout the day.
- Build taking medication into your daily routine.
It is often easier to remember to take medication if it is done in conjunction with another daily activity, like brushing your teeth, showering, eating breakfast, and getting ready to go to work.
- Use cues to help yourself remember.
Many people have developed their own cues to help remind them to take their medications regularly, like using a pill container that is organized into daily doses, using a calendar, making notes to yourself, keeping the pill bottle next to an item that is used daily, asking a relative or other supporter to help you remember.
- Keep the benefits in mind.
Sometimes it helps to remind yourself of the reasons that you have decided to take medications.
Everyone responds to medication in different ways. It can take time for you and your doctor to find the medication that helps you the most and has the fewest side effects. Medications for mental illness usually take time to work. They are not like painkillers, for example, which have an effect within hours. It may take several weeks before you notice a difference in the way you feel. Talk to your doctor on a regular basis about how you are feeling, so that you can work together to find the best medicine for you. At the same time, continue to use as many recovery strategies as possible, such as self help programs, exercising, maintaining a healthy diet, and avoiding stressful environments. See handout #1 for more recovery strategies.
This article is adapted from the Illness Management and Recovery Workbook, an Evidence-Based Practice, available on the Substance Abuse, Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) website, a branch of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
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