It’s 2021 and the stigma around medication still exists.
Medication saves lives yet so many of us are either ashamed of taking medication or choose not to take medication because either we’ve decided it won’t work or we think our situation isn’t bad enough.
The reality is I’ve done all of the above. Medication has been super helpful for me over the years, it has helped me to sleep and improve my mood after my dad died. Yet I hid it from all my loved ones which just highlights how real the stigma is. I didn’t want to hear people’s judgements. It helped me to sleep and get through the days when I couldn’t physically walk or get out of bed for years. It gave me the nutrients I’ve needed over the years which helped my hair to grow back. It regulated my periods which I needed as I suffer from polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and I was becoming severely unhealthy due to my bleeding disorder.
The point is medication can be super helpful and it is okay to take medication when needed. You wouldn’t look down on someone with a more prominent (aka, more socially acceptable) illness for taking their prescribed medication, nor would you look down on someone for taking antibiotics — so why is it when it comes to medication for mental health or invisible illness there is such a terrible stigma?
Whilst you may not understand why someone would take medicine (because you’re privileged enough to not be able to understand) for some, mental health medications have been the lifeline they needed. Anti-depressants can be exactly what you need in order to get up and shower or to be able to go to therapy or to just make your bed in the morning.
They can help you finally regulate your sleep and get the rest you’ve needed. They can be life changing and many report this and talk about how medication allows them to live a long life.
We need to learn to stop giving our opinion on medication to those that have just about come to terms with taking it, because it doesn’t help anyone. Please stop criticising people’s decision to take medication. Instead, let’s just focus on supporting people, instead of inflicting our non-expert views on them (and even if you *are* an expert, please don’t weigh on on something that doesn’t involve you).
Believe me, I’ve tried other approaches. And they didn’t work for me. That doesn’t mean the other approaches I tried won’t work for other people — but I recognise that it is not my right to preach them.
I don’t myself want to take controlled drugs but without them, I can’t move and it’s hard enough having to take them every day without someone telling me I just need to do things that do not work for me and I’ll be cured.
I’m constantly reminding myself it is okay that I take medication and I want you to know it is okay if you do.
The bottom line is: We should be supporting people, not policing them. Let’s start worrying about our own needs, and allow others to do the same (without feeling guilty for it).
