The stigma surrounding mental illnesses is relentless. It eats at progress and harms those who experience mental illnesses. One of the many ways in which stigma has deeply harmed those with mental illnesses is through the demonization and the spreading of misconceptions regarding antidepressants.
Stigmatization
Stigmatization of medication leads to premature abandonment of treatment and is the most common cause of the failure of the treatment. Mental illnesses are serious and often life-threatening. Ill-informed blanket statements that stigmatize and demonize vital treatment are a deep disservice to those in need. They completely discount the complexity and the weight of both the illnesses and the treatment. According to Psychology Today, due to the ongoing stigma, “only half of those living with depression and other mental illnesses actually receive treatment.” By dispelling the myths that perpetuate stigmas surrounding antidepressants, we can come closer to a world that allows people with mental illnesses to seek the safe treatment that they need.
Misconceptions
One misleading fear regarding antidepressants is that these medications have the power to change your personality and the nature of what makes you who you are. This idea implies that taking antidepressants will turn you into a conformist that lives on autopilot. However, it is made clear by medical research that the opposite is true. Antidepressants allow those with intrusive thoughts to find their inner peace, allowing them to live in the moment.
Other harmful stigmas include the notion that they are addictive. While you are, in a sense, dependent on antidepressants, it is extremely harmful to conflate addiction with dependency. The two words are not synonymous. Drug addiction is a compulsive mental disorder experienced as a mental obsession, not a physical dependency in the way that patients may experience with antidepressants. Being physically dependent on an antidepressant does not make you a drug addict.
Another way people demonize antidepressants is by enforcing the idea that you should be able to fight your mental illness without this medication and that you are considered weak if you take them. It should go without saying that those who do not know the pain of something should not measure the strength required to overcome it. Other than that, antidepressants are there to allow you to live with an illness that prevents you from the life you deserve.
What do they really do?
Antidepressants work by helping the brain build up an increased supply of neurotransmitters, which provide a method of communication between cells in order to regulate mood. They can provide a depressed or severely anxious person with the motivation – fueled by an elevated mood or a sense of calm – to create their own happiness, allowing them to pursue interests and activities that bring them joy.
It is important to note that antidepressants are made to be taken in conjunction with wellness strategies and talk therapy. Hand-in-hand, they can allow you to live a healthier and happier life. They are not for everyone. Some people will undergo other forms of treatment, and that is okay, too. Every case is different. There is so much bravery in making the decision to push for a better life. All you are doing is asking for a fair shot at a healthy and well-balanced life and that is okay.