By: Abby Anerella ❤️
(Before I say anything, I would like to inform readers that I am talking about medication for anxiety, depression, and OCD. That is what I’m familiar with, and what I am educated enough on to speak about. There are many medications for many mental health disorders that I don’t have the knowledge to speak on.)
Short answer to this question is yes. The long answer is also yes.
I think people have a really negative view on medication being used to treat mental health disorders. I understand the worries about how medication will affect you, but like anything new that you try, it doesn’t have to be forever. You can decrease your dosage, change your prescription, or stop altogether if that’s what you feel is best for your health. If you’ve been contemplating it, and you’ve really been struggling, I would suggest talking to a medical professional to get their advice.
I first went on medication in February of 2021. My mom was a lot more worried about me starting medication than I was, although I still had my fears around it. I had just turned 17 at the time. I had just opened up to my parents about my struggle with anxiety and depression, and I had just started therapy. Everything felt like it was all happening at once.
I went to my primary care doctor at this time. My mom came with me, but when it was time for the doctor to talk to me, she kindly asked my mom to leave the room. I was honest with her about everything. I even told her I thought I could be experiencing OCD, but wasn’t entirely sure because I wasn’t educated enough on the topic. She had me fill out a General Anxiety Disorder form, as well as a form for depression. I scored the highest you could have on both forms, was diagnosed with anxiety and depression, and there was no other mention of OCD except the constant mention of it in my mind.
My mom was called back into the room, and my doctor explained to my mom that she thought it would be a smart idea for me to start medication. My mom sighed. Probably because deep down she knew that’s what was going to be recommended for me, and didn’t want me to go on it.
Whenever you are first prescribed medication, they start with a small dose and then see how your body reacts to it. From there, they will decide how much they need to increase it by, or if they even need to increase it at all.
I was put on 20 mg of Fluoxetine that I stayed on for about 7 months in 2021 until I felt confident enough to be able to go off of it.
The thing about medication is this: If you are expecting for all of your problems to be solved through the use of medication, you won’t heal. Medication is truly the most successful if it’s combated with therapy. As great as I think medicine is, it’s not going to do your dirty work for you. As my therapist always said to me, “it’ll help you get over the hump”, but it won’t “fix” your issues.
Now for the science behind Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs- like Prozac and Zoloft). SSRIs work by increasing serotonin levels in the brain. If you don’t know what serotonin is, it’s a chemical in your brain that is basically responsible for most of your important body functions (mood, sleep, digestion, nausea, etc.). Some people like to refer to serotonin as the “happy” chemical in your brain because it contributes to your well-being and happiness. SSRIs work by blocking (“inhibiting”) reuptake, meaning more serotonin is available to pass further messages between nearby nerve cells. Basically for those of you who hate science and have no idea what I just said, SSRIs allow for an increase of serotonin levels in the brain.
If you’ve read this far you may be wondering, “if medication makes you happier, why can’t it fix your problems?” Short answer: you aren’t a robot. It is physically impossible for a human-being to feel one emotion 24/7. In fact, it is thought that biologically, emotions only last for 90 seconds. Fun fact! You can’t be happy all the time, you can’t be sad all the time, you can’t be angry all the time, and you can’t be anxious all the time. You may feel like you are, but if you start to tune into your emotional responses a little bit more, you’ll know what I’m talking about. It is truly humanly impossible.
I am a big advocate for medication. Although I mentioned earlier that I was on Fluoxetine for 7 months in 2021 and went off of it, I’m currently on Zoloft.
For the year I went off medicine, I never felt like I needed it again. Therapy started to feel like enough for me. My medicine had gotten me exactly where I wanted it to get me, and my therapeutic work became my mental health priority.
Fast forward to when I came home from school and I started experiencing depersonalization episodes, I knew medication was going to be one of the best options for me again. I started back on fluoxetine, it didn’t work with my body like it had before, and I started having not so great side effects. My doctor had recommended I switch to Zoloft after my OCD diagnosis, and I agreed that it would be good for me too.
In my opinion, therapy will always be more effective for your mental health than medication. Medication won’t fix your issues in its entirety, but it will help give you the push of motivation to do so. But if you are going to take one thing away from this blog please let it be this, don’t rely on your medication for happiness. I know people who are on insanely high doses of medication, with no outside therapy, and have not made progress. You might be asking yourself, “if she keeps saying that therapy is what will help you and not medication, why is medication so important?” My answer? It will help regulate your emotional part of your brain at a steadier level, and help you be in tune to the work you need to do for yourself to grow.
If you are feeling alone, or confused, or at odds about starting medication… I wanted to share a conversation that I had with a friend who reached out to me.
Friend: Really think meds are a good idea tbh… wait are you medicated?
Me: Yes I am… I’m on Zoloft
Friend: What do you think? And what does it specifically target?
Me: Zoloft treats ocd, anxiety, and depression. I know a lot of people are prescribed prozac for just anxiety and depression
Friend: I want to, but it’s such a long process to get medication
Me: I would say go to your primary health care provider. That’s where mine is prescribed from. Once you’re on it and seeing how it reacts with your body, you can look for a psychiatrist who specializes in that if you want.
Friend: All you have to do is ask? Like I don’t need a therapist to tell them I need it?
Me: If you schedule a med check with your doctor they’ll have you take a generic anxiety and depression checklist and then go based off of that
Friend: THAT’S IT??
The process to get medication is a lot less involved than one may think it is. You don’t need to schedule a million appointments, and you don’t need to have a therapist call anyone for you. All you have to do is be honest. If you are honest about your symptoms with a medical professional, they will help you decide the best course of action for you (medication or not).
I wanted to talk briefly about how scary some of the side effects of SSRIs can be. This is why it’s important to be honest with your healthcare provider. They are putting their trust in you that you are being truthful about your symptoms. If you want to be on a crazy high dose of a medication, but your symptoms don’t align with that dose, you will end up doing more harm than good to your body.
So… medication… is it worth it? 100% yes. I like to think of medication as the parent who holds onto the back of your bicycle as a little kid. They give you a little push, and promise to hold on to the back of the bike the entire time. They hold on for a bit, until they let go and they don’t tell you. Pretty soon you’re riding your bike on your own. You’re now 30 feet away from your parents in your neighborhood, and you’ve done it all by yourself without them. Now every time you ride a bike, you never forget how to do so. Your parents are your medication giving you the push you need to start. You won’t need your parents to push you forever (sorry Mom and Dad!).
I’m not telling everyone who is out there struggling to go on medication. Not everyone needs their bike pushed, and the ones that don’t want the push know that they don’t need the push. But don’t underestimate the fact that maybe you do… and that’s okay, you’ll end up biking pretty far.
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