Why Medical Treatment for Mental Illness?

Although the topic of mental health has been increasingly normalized and much more receptive to discussion, concerns in regards to individuals utilizing medications as a mental health treatment has continued to be a topic of scrutiny and stigma in today’s society. 

What many individuals have a limited understanding of due to scarce resources or neuro-informed approaches to providing information on the use of medications for mental health is that many mental health conditions are due to shifts and changes in brain activity. According to a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health (2007), various neurotransmitters (e.g. serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine) are distributed and are responsible for different functions in the brain. These three neurotransmitters are implications in depression. Mental health professionals may diagnose patients based on the symptoms presented in the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th Edition (DSMV-5), but will need to further understand structural changes that occur in the brain to make decisions regarding medicinal treatment for mental illnesses. 

Of course, mental health treatments of disorders such as schizophrenia and depression differ from diseases that require medicine such as Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy. In other words, there is a difference between medical treatments for various types of brain diseases as opposed to alternative medicinal treatments for mental illnesses. In the case of depression, studies have shown that a combination of antidepressants and therapy “...can yield almost double the symptom improvement” (Lu, 2020). Although medicine is not a requirement for all mental health treatments, research has shown that they are important supplements to incorporate for rapid improvement of symptoms.

It is a difficult journey to change centuries of misinformation and prejudice against mental health treatments. Much of the stigma today is concentrated through social media pressures and negative public environmental perceptions, making it more difficult to be receptive to seeking help. Additionally, negative stigma largely contributes to low self-esteem, shame, and discomfort because individuals may feel the need to conceal their illnesses from loved ones (e.g. family, friends). Therefore, to tackle the stigma of mental health treatments that incorporate medicine, we as individuals must start by educating ourselves as well as the larger community on the reasons behind the importance of medical treatment. After all, change starts with each individual to take the responsibilities of promoting acceptance and self-awareness on mental health issues and the possible treatments associated with them. An individual should not wait until symptoms worsen or until mental health issues start affecting their way of life. It is important to seek help as soon as possible. 

Resources

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK20369/

https://totalwellnessmagazine.org/articles/destigmatizing-mental-health-medication