Should you take medication for your mental health?
There are a lot of different things to consider when it comes to taking medication for your mental health. One of the first things you may wonder is “Is this the right choice for me?”.
This is a hard decision, especially since there are a lot of different opinions about it. From a mental health professional, I want to say that they have the potential to be extraordinarily helpful for some people. Many people with chronic anxiety or depression find that medication can help manage the symptoms. However, there may be some cases where it isn’t helpful and can cause some unwanted side effects.
While we know a lot about the different medications out there, there is still a lot to learn. Medications affect people differently and it may take time to find the right combination to manage your symptoms effectively.
As a therapist who takes medication to manage my anxiety and depression, I can say that it has been helpful for me. I do want to say that it took some time before I was able to find something that worked for me. I had to trust my providers to use their training to find something that helped and there were a few missteps. Sometimes knowing that your therapist has taken medication can help work through some of the concerns you have about taking something for your mental health.
When it comes to the question of if medication is the right choice for me, this is something that you can sometimes work through with your therapist, depending on their training and knowledge. However, most therapists won’t be able to tell you exactly which ones to take since they aren’t trained in prescribing. For my clients, we talk about the pros and cons, history of symptoms and work together to manage the symptoms that we can.
If you are considering medication, talk to your care team and if you need to, ask your therapist for a referral to a provider who can work with you to find something that works for you. We want you to live your best life and sometimes medication can help with that.
#mentalhealth #medication #therapy #counseling #psychiatry
