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When is it time to use medications for mental illness?
It is time to consider a medical cause for your behavior and mood when:
1. you can no longer control them
2. they affect the various areas of your life
3. you start having other physical symptoms not accounted for through medical exam and studies, such as:
- sleep changes (Pearl: Sleep is known as the vital sign in psychiatry.)
- change in energy
- gastrointestinal – stomach upset, nausea/vomiting/diarrhea, change in appetite
- neurological – headache, numbness, tingling, shaking, change in response time physically or verbally
I’m sure I missed a few things, but roughly, these are guidelines that can apply to most mental illnesses on multiple spectrums, such as anxiety, mood, psychosis, addictions, and even character pathology.
According the numbers count done by NIMH:
…about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. When applied to the 2004 U.S. Census residential population estimate for ages 18 and older, this figure translates to 57.7 million people. …mental disorders are the leading cause of disability in the U.S. and Canada.
When you next go outside and walk in a crowd, count them. One, two, three, mental illness. One, two, three, mental illness. And so on…. If you suffer from mental illness, you are not alone.
If you buy any of this, if you see these things in yourself, consider seeing a physician for further evaluation and possible medical care.
Self-Care Tip #108 – Take medication if it’s medical. Be a friend to yourself.
Question: How has your definition of mental illness affected your ability to get treatment? Or how has it affected your interaction with those who are in treatment? Please tell me your story.
Related Articles
- What is mental illness? (bps-research-digest.blogspot.com)
- Would You Want A Psychiatric Patient Living Next Door? (psychologytoday.com)
- Mental Illness Relapses When Medications Are Stopped http://bit.ly/pA4kxo
- Number One Reason For Relapse In Mental Illness http://bit.ly/rt1qJf
- Are Your Meds Safe? http://bit.ly/lh1cBh
- Say Yes to Medication And No To Drugs http://bit.ly/oX12i0
- Fears of Addiction To Medications for Brain Illness http://bit.ly/oWY8i4
- Other Fears of Medication For Brain Illness http://bit.ly/qdHksR
- Afraid of Meds http://bit.ly/rjt7wY
- Full Treatment Response Means a Better Future http://bit.ly/ph84ZU
I could write a book….but suffice it to say, to the day she died, my mother never even told her best friend that I had had a breakdown and was on medication, my sister said I couldn’t possibly be a Christian and be mentally ill, people at church have told me that they actually walked across pews to avoid talking with me when I was sick, and, even though I’m off all medications but Klonopin and seeing a therapist only every three or four months “just to keep in touch”, I can’t go anywhere or meet anyone new without feeling as if I’m wearing a sign saying “Mentally Ill” around my neck. My attitude about people with emotional problems? God bless them…and I pray that they have a really good connection with HIm. It (and the love of my family) is the only thing that kept me alive.
I often think of this question with BPD because i allways think i might get more deppresed one day or get really worse and then they cant up the medication no more i think i need my tablets they kinda help me and i think on lots of occasions they have saved me between life and death i am feeling a lot better at the moment but things can change very quickly
Hello Kevin. That’s a hard place to b when u feel like u can’t trust yourself. It takes a lot of courage to do what u do. U r not alone! Keep on.