Around half of the population takes some kind of medication1, and most aren’t shy about it if asked. But there is a subsection of shy people. People who take psychotropic medication. In other words, medication for depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia…
Shy people are at risk. There are plenty of studies explaining the stigma surrounding mental health2, but not that many explaining the risks of taking psychotropic medication and hiding it from family and friends. Furthermore, most of the family members who knew, only 41% were aware of the “names and dosages of most or all of my family member’s psychiatric medications”3.
To me, this is an important problem. Treatment compliance isn’t always positive, and not having anyone to confide in about side effects and frustrations seems problematic, maybe leading to worse outcomes. We, people who take psychotropics, must try to find someone on whom to confide in.
If there is a medical emergency, it is critical that the medical providers know what medications a person is on, and if unable, family or friends are the ones who will provide that information. I argue, there should be a designated person who knows all the medications and dosages that one is taking.
We shouldn’t have to be sky about this. It isn’t our fault life gave us these diseases. Depression and diabetes should have the same standing. One isn’t faulted for needing insulin, and thus, the other shouldn’t either be faulted for taking an antidepressant.
What kind of society are we if we don’t accept all, regardless of their medical hurdles?
To address the elephant in the room, not everyone has the correct people on whom to confide, and that is okay. We all must live with the cards we are dealt, and if we do not have the right person, it is not worth taking the chance and being judged, or worse.
This is not medical advice. The text above should only be considered an opinion piece with not scientific backing.
- Therapeutic Drug Use. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/drug-use-therapeutic.htm;
Medicine use statistics. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Medicine_use_statistics ↩︎ - Social psychology of stigma for mental illness: Public stigma and self-stigma. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233795987_Social_psychology_of_stigma_for_mental_illness_Public_stigma_and_self-stigma ↩︎
- Family Conundrums with Psychiatric Medication: An Inquiry into Experiences, Beliefs, and Desires. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8504486/ ↩︎
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