We need to be very careful in the way we discuss antidepressants and medications for mental health.
Before I dive in, here’s some important information (and some of this is from another article I wrote called “Let’s Talk About Mental Health and Medications”). Taking medications for mental health disorders is very common, especially taking antidepressants for anxiety and/or depression disorders. People who take medications do not have “more serious” mental health problems than people who don’t take medications. Antidepressants take about 2-6 weeks to gradually increase serotonin, what carries chemical messages between brain cells. Therapy is effective; medications are just an extra step some patients need to help therapy be more effective. And therapy can be beneficial for anyone; you do not need to have an officially diagnosed disorder to seek therapy.
I stumbled upon the Chronicle article “Antidepressants: My Drug of Choice” (a title that sounds like it’s talking about antidepressant abuse and maybe was intentionally titled that to hook readers – Problematic.) and clicked on it because I am a person who takes antidepressants.
This article is upsetting, and these are my main reasons why.
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It reads like a saga. I applaud the author for putting her name on her work because it really is difficult to talk about your struggles with mental health and medication so openly. However, she emphasised the tediousness with trying multiple medications like it was unique to her experience, but it is extremely common for patients on medications; it often takes a few times to find the right one. Any psychiatrist prescribing medications will tell their patients that it will likely take some experimentation. This article was disheartening and dramatic; it glorifies the process and stirs more anxiety in people who are worried they won’t find the medication that will “stick” for them.
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Her experience is inaccurately idealized. In explaining the day she felt the medication “work,” she writes, “For no particular reason, I was smiling at strangers, walking in time with the music, feeling pure joy rush through my body.” Antidepressants do not work this way. It will not “hit” you like a recreational drug. You will not feel a rush of euphoria one day. The danger of this writing is that those who are on medications may now be waiting for the day they “feel it” and suddenly start “smiling at strangers.” Likely, you’ll experience small changes in behavior overtime and feel more capable of going through your day. If you want to be giddy for no reason, there are other drugs for that.
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It stifles the dialogue we need around medications. We need to be able to talk about medications like they’re very common and normal, because they are. We don’t need more testimonies that remind people that depression and anxiety disorders are difficult and scary. We don’t need phrases saying that medications “can give you the power to change [your life] yourself” because that is not entirely true. It takes more than pills, sometimes it doesn’t take pills at all. It takes you and your grit, but it really takes support systems, family, friends, therapists and trained-professionals, psychiatrists, and the whole army.
If you are a person who might take medications or is currently taking medications, please consult your doctor if you’re concerned with not finding the right one. I agree with the author that it takes time, and if you do find the right one, it can help. But medications are not the complete or only answer, and they are not as terrifying as this article makes them seem. And they really should not be your drug of choice.
Resources:
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National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
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Crisis Text Line: Text “home” to 741741
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Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357)
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National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Helpline: 1-800-950-NAMI (6264)