Medications Help, But Don't Always Fix Everything

When people first started out trying to find a way to get on the road to recovery, especially few years ago, many people thought that the only magic answer was going to be through medications. Hope was held out that a person could take a pill or a shot and things would get better. That person’s depressions would totally disappear, their manias would no longer be so high, and that their delusions and hallucinations would magically, “poof,” be gone, and that everything would then be totally wonderful.

Some people had it happen that way. They were able to find a medication that worked for them and worked well with minimal side effects. Some of the people who found wonderful medications that worked for them found medication (or medications) that worked right away. Others found the right medication on the second, third or fourth try.

Others found medications that worked and worked well, but for some reason the medications would only work for a short time. Then they were forced to search out a new medication. Sometimes this situation happened just once. Sometimes it happened again and again.

Medications can be wonderful. They can take the edge off of the depressions, the manias, and the hallucinations and delusions. Medications can help you become able to think and “function” enough that you can put steps and processes in place to get to a better quality of life. Sometimes medications may make everything feel totally better, but sometimes the medications just help you get enough relief and time that you can find different or better coping skills to help you stay in recovery.

One example is that of a person who feels like all hallucinations and delusions are external to them:

The radio is talking to them There is someone calling their name The government is requesting their personal assistance, etc.

Some people may be able to realize that all hallucinations and delusions aren't external to them. They might be able to slow or stop hallucinations and delusions from escalating (becoming so severe as to lose their grasp on reality), if they can catch what is happening faster. This may help them become more proactive in their treatment and recovery.

Another example is a person who has terrible, debilitating manias. That person may be able to realize that there were some warning signs, and if some stressors had been handled differently, or if they had seen a psychiatrist sooner, then the resulting hospitalization might not have been as long, and the mania might not have been so severe.

Any amount of self-knowledge that allows a person who happens to have a mental illness or psychiatric disorder to get to where they can become a more informed, a more proactive, part of their treatment team is in a better position to maintain a solid recovery. Sometimes that is all that the medications will help a person get. When that happens one solution is to build a better plan, and put more coping skills in place to help the person deal with the stress of living.

For some, the medications will “fix” everything. For others that doesn't happen. Medication after medication may be tried, and while the debilitating symptoms may be lessened, they may not go away entirely. However, the person may learn to deal with their symptoms and what is still happening in their lives. People can learn coping skills. Pat Deegan has been a leader in the field in this area.

When people start taking medication for a mental illness/psychiatric diagnosis, many find that they need to or have to weigh their quality of life against the side effects that many medications cause. Some people may feel that they have no creativity or that their creativity is sharply curtailed. When this is happening to someone who has made a living or has always relied on feeling creative, the feeling of having no creativity can be devastating. That person may choose (although they seem to be “stable”) to continue searching for a medication that will allow them their creativity. Many people feel that creativity is the essence of their existence, and feel like they don't want to go on without it. Or that person may become frustrated, and choose to stop medication entirely.

What is right for one person may not be right for another. One person may feel that they don't need to have that creativity be a part of their life, while another can't stand to be alive without it. Both are right. It is important to support a person who has a mental illness/psychiatric diagnosis in helping them find the quality of life they are searching for, even when he or she may not fully understand it.

Some people find that medication side effects are worse than the disease itself. This is a terrible place for a person to be. That person knows they may end up back in the hospital or may not find a great level of recovery, but when she or he feels that the side effects are worse than the disease, that person may find it hard or next to impossible to take that medication. Recovery is a very personal journey, and what is true for one is not necessarily true for another person.

People need to find or get access to information about the side effects of medications they are taking. This can happen through pharmacological medication fact sheets, the Physicians Desk Reference (PDR) or through research on the internet. It helps when the person who feels they are unable to take a medication are believed and listened to. Some of the side effects of the medications are very physical. It can be hard to know what is a medication side effect, a sign or symptom, or a signal of excess stress.