Thank you for this! 15 years ago, I was a burned out pastor trying to pray away my brain problems, and I made some really unhealthy choices as I tried to cope with the chaos within. Ultimately, I checked myself into a hospital for three days and got a brain scan at the Amen Clinic started by Dr. Daniel Amen. Seeing and understanding the activity levels of my brain gave me a completely new understanding of my experience. I started taking an antidepressant and anti anxiety medication that saved and transformed my life. Several years ago, I started to realize that I was not feeling the full spectrum of emotions, so I did quite a bit of work to wean myself off the antidepressant. It sounds weird to say, but I’m actually thankful that I can finally cry again.
The way I see it is this: We are a very Protestant view of work and of life. If you can't solve it on your own with hard work, focus, effort, and a little elbow grease, then it is merely Satan tempting you away from the path of hard work.
Remember, we are beings with primal minds using 19th century reasoning to fit in a 21st century world. We feel far before we think. We are a storytelling creature.
And the last one I'll put out there: It is selfish to not ask for help. Not asking for help is a pride issue (and I know because I rarely ask for help because I have too much pride at times) because weakness goes against the Protestant mindset from above.
You can only take care of yourself and if that requires medication and other means to do so, then do so.
One thing to remember that different drugs work for different people in different ways. I'm quite sure that Prozac has helped a lot of people out there. When they gave it to me when I was in the hospital, I wound up with relentless intrusive thoughts about doing terrible things. I told them to take me off of it immediately, and, thankfully, they did. It took years to titrate things to get the drug cocktail that keeps my condition (bipolar II) under control. So when a drug doesn't work for someone, it doesn't mean that drugs in general don't work; it just means THAT drug didn't work.
YES YES YES! This is so true. The only reason I was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder (also type 2) was because none of the meds prescribed for the prior major depression diagnosis were effective. A smart doctor decided to try me on a mood stabilizer, and it worked. Lots of trial and error, but patience leads to success.
Chris, thank you for this? We need to accept mental health just like we do cancer or high blood pressure. We can be such a divided people and we need to come together. I can bet that everyone of is related to someone on mental health medications for something.
I have been a nurse for 30 years and a psych nurse for 10. I have been on antidepressants since I was 24 and I have tried getting off of them but realizedy life is so much better when I am on them. There are so many out there if one doesn't fit please try another but don't give up! This world needs you.
“Sometimes medication is needed just so that a person can get themselves together enough to implement those non-medicinal strategies.”
This comment from Charity was definitely my experience. Without anti-anxiety meds I was unable to implement any of these natural tools for helping to relieve anxiety. The meds brought me back to some level of normalcy where I could think about the next steps - meditation, eliminating work stress, drinking less, etc etc etc
I have an anxiety disorder. Id been on prozac for years and then weaned off because of dizziness as I got older, in 2019. I could not eliminate a continuous low rate of anxiety iff it, so I'm back on this month. Constant fear and worry is really bad for health, immune system, brain health. It turns off our prefrontal cortex. I had been having cognitive problems. Now that I'm back on medication, I feel sharper and my old creative self. I also get exercise, eat reasonably well, and plenty if sunshine and exposure to nature.
As a life coach, I work with people who are functional — and around 30-50% of my clients also use medications from time to time in order to be as functional as they need to be.
There is no shame in this! Better living through chemistry is a real thing, and I don’t care if it’s a pharmaceutical, a psychedelic, or a “natural” intervention.
In Internal Family Systems, one helpful approach to starting any kind of chemical intervention is working with someone’s parts alongside using the medication.
Frank Anderson, MD, an IFS trainer, alerted me to the really amazing idea of talking to the parts of you who may have concerns about using medication, and doing some inner work around their worries or concerns before and during taking the medication.
I now always check in with peoples’ parts about any medications they will or do take. Parts of us have the capacity to make medications more or less effective! By checking in with them, and getting their consent to use this chemical, you may be able to make the intervention more effective — or get feedback about how to fine tune it.
Yes to eliminating the shame around using chemicals to live better! Let’s find better ways to work with ourselves to make those chemicals more effective at supporting our well-being!
Mother of a now 28 year old. When he was 14, he got himself suspended from school. They cared enough to recommend therapy. We found an amazing therapist who he immediately clicked with. With the agreement of his pediatrician, he started taking Lexapro. At some point, in his words, 'the colors came back into his life'.
Multiple times, sometimes with the aid of his therapist, other times on his own, he's tried to come off the drugs but the result is always the same - inability to function.
At one point in the down cycle, he told me that he would kill himself if things did not change. Because he was never one for drama, I immediately called his therapist and he change medication and increased his in person therapy sessions.
My family has always shamed him and my husband and me for this. I don't care. My beautiful child is alive and contributing to world today. Every night I give thanks for his therapist and the inventor of Lexapro. I do not believe that he would be here today if he had not had access to both.
The older I become, the more I realize that people condemn, shame and blame others when they should stop, ask questions and become informed. I hope to model those behaviors to my children and my community.
Thank you, Chris, for addressing this topic. I have certainly lived it.
This is certainly one of the many things about mental health that needs to be destigmatized. My own major depression dates back to early childhood and is severe and debilitating when untreated, but is controlled more or less completely by a fairly low dose of a very standard drug. I’ve never even had more than trivial side effects. I’m super lucky that it’s been so simple - that’s by no means experience - but fear mongering and moralizing could easily have kept me from, literally, the capacity to function as a human being.
One point, speaking as a medically complex person: When this comes up, people make comparisons to the treatment of non-mental illness, pointing out how we wouldn’t shame a person with disease X for taking drug Y. Except that people do get shamed for that in some quarters. There’s always somebody convinced that everyone can fix everything - from diabetes to arthritis to infertility to cancer - by being sufficiently committed to the right lifestyle change. And lifestyle matters. But if your disease is one that’s successfully reversed by nothing more than a change of diet and some yoga, you need to realize you’re one of the lucky ones.
Thanks, Chris - I have been committed to "doing the work" for a long time and started therapy over 5 years ago. Something still felt "off" but I was so hesitant to start medication based on societal stigma and "what others might think", especially family and friends.
I'm proud (and a little nervous, I'll admit) to share that I actually just started a medication last week. The more I do the work and take the time to learn about myself and my anxiety and ADHD, the more I am able to lean into trusting the resources that I believe will help me be the best version of myself. Thanks for sharing your journey with us. It makes me feel less alone!
I am so grateful for antidepressants and Ritalin. Without those one of my daughters would probably no longer be alive. Seeing her struggling over many years, living in the constant fear she would no longer be able to go on enduring her pain was the hardest thing I ever had to do, and I can only try to imagine how absolutely unbearable this must have been for her. Sunshine and exercise are fine - but if you find yourself in a place where you cannot even realise that both exist makes those ideas simply ridiculous.
Thank you Chris for this thread, from the bottom of my heart. 💙
As a pharmacist, I work closely with patients under mental health medications and I consistently encourage the integration of non-medicinal strategies. Beyond their potential to, indeed, complement treatment effectiveness, I believe that they empower patients, giving them a sense of control over their condition and an active role in their therapeutic journey. Patients not only gain a greater sense of agency but also discover a newfound control over their well-being.
I've taken psychiatric meds for 23 years. One of my therapists over the years shared this with me, and it has helped me tremendously: "Medication's function is to make you stable, not to make you happy. Once you are stable, you can start figuring out what the "happy" is." That's why it's hard sometimes to notice the difference in mood, or at least to explain it. When you have been unstable and dysfunctional for so long, it's hard to recognize what stability feels like - much less happiness. Once the meds helped me stabilize, happiness became a possibility and hope became real. Life isn't always easy, but the meds keep me functional - I have to work at keeping myself happy!
A younger relative of mine started taking medication and asked me what normal felt like. I made my best stab at it before admitting defeat and confessing that I don't know what "normal" feels like; I only know what "the meds are working" feels like.
I think of medication as another tool in one’s toolbox, the same way therapy, exercise, mindfulness, coping strategies, etc. are also tools. The trick is using the right tool for the right job. You don’t use a hammer to insert a screw — it’s not made for that — like exercise (or whatever) may not be the right tool for treating profound anxiety or depression. But with a toolbox, you have options.
Thank you for this! 15 years ago, I was a burned out pastor trying to pray away my brain problems, and I made some really unhealthy choices as I tried to cope with the chaos within. Ultimately, I checked myself into a hospital for three days and got a brain scan at the Amen Clinic started by Dr. Daniel Amen. Seeing and understanding the activity levels of my brain gave me a completely new understanding of my experience. I started taking an antidepressant and anti anxiety medication that saved and transformed my life. Several years ago, I started to realize that I was not feeling the full spectrum of emotions, so I did quite a bit of work to wean myself off the antidepressant. It sounds weird to say, but I’m actually thankful that I can finally cry again.
The way I see it is this: We are a very Protestant view of work and of life. If you can't solve it on your own with hard work, focus, effort, and a little elbow grease, then it is merely Satan tempting you away from the path of hard work.
Remember, we are beings with primal minds using 19th century reasoning to fit in a 21st century world. We feel far before we think. We are a storytelling creature.
And the last one I'll put out there: It is selfish to not ask for help. Not asking for help is a pride issue (and I know because I rarely ask for help because I have too much pride at times) because weakness goes against the Protestant mindset from above.
You can only take care of yourself and if that requires medication and other means to do so, then do so.
One thing to remember that different drugs work for different people in different ways. I'm quite sure that Prozac has helped a lot of people out there. When they gave it to me when I was in the hospital, I wound up with relentless intrusive thoughts about doing terrible things. I told them to take me off of it immediately, and, thankfully, they did. It took years to titrate things to get the drug cocktail that keeps my condition (bipolar II) under control. So when a drug doesn't work for someone, it doesn't mean that drugs in general don't work; it just means THAT drug didn't work.
Yes, very good reminder. Thanks for sharing this. 💚
YES YES YES! This is so true. The only reason I was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder (also type 2) was because none of the meds prescribed for the prior major depression diagnosis were effective. A smart doctor decided to try me on a mood stabilizer, and it worked. Lots of trial and error, but patience leads to success.
Chris, thank you for this? We need to accept mental health just like we do cancer or high blood pressure. We can be such a divided people and we need to come together. I can bet that everyone of is related to someone on mental health medications for something.
I have been a nurse for 30 years and a psych nurse for 10. I have been on antidepressants since I was 24 and I have tried getting off of them but realizedy life is so much better when I am on them. There are so many out there if one doesn't fit please try another but don't give up! This world needs you.
Love L
I would like this post more if that were possible.
“Sometimes medication is needed just so that a person can get themselves together enough to implement those non-medicinal strategies.”
This comment from Charity was definitely my experience. Without anti-anxiety meds I was unable to implement any of these natural tools for helping to relieve anxiety. The meds brought me back to some level of normalcy where I could think about the next steps - meditation, eliminating work stress, drinking less, etc etc etc
I have an anxiety disorder. Id been on prozac for years and then weaned off because of dizziness as I got older, in 2019. I could not eliminate a continuous low rate of anxiety iff it, so I'm back on this month. Constant fear and worry is really bad for health, immune system, brain health. It turns off our prefrontal cortex. I had been having cognitive problems. Now that I'm back on medication, I feel sharper and my old creative self. I also get exercise, eat reasonably well, and plenty if sunshine and exposure to nature.
Huge agree Chris and thanks for this!
As a life coach, I work with people who are functional — and around 30-50% of my clients also use medications from time to time in order to be as functional as they need to be.
There is no shame in this! Better living through chemistry is a real thing, and I don’t care if it’s a pharmaceutical, a psychedelic, or a “natural” intervention.
In Internal Family Systems, one helpful approach to starting any kind of chemical intervention is working with someone’s parts alongside using the medication.
Frank Anderson, MD, an IFS trainer, alerted me to the really amazing idea of talking to the parts of you who may have concerns about using medication, and doing some inner work around their worries or concerns before and during taking the medication.
I now always check in with peoples’ parts about any medications they will or do take. Parts of us have the capacity to make medications more or less effective! By checking in with them, and getting their consent to use this chemical, you may be able to make the intervention more effective — or get feedback about how to fine tune it.
Yes to eliminating the shame around using chemicals to live better! Let’s find better ways to work with ourselves to make those chemicals more effective at supporting our well-being!
Mother of a now 28 year old. When he was 14, he got himself suspended from school. They cared enough to recommend therapy. We found an amazing therapist who he immediately clicked with. With the agreement of his pediatrician, he started taking Lexapro. At some point, in his words, 'the colors came back into his life'.
Multiple times, sometimes with the aid of his therapist, other times on his own, he's tried to come off the drugs but the result is always the same - inability to function.
At one point in the down cycle, he told me that he would kill himself if things did not change. Because he was never one for drama, I immediately called his therapist and he change medication and increased his in person therapy sessions.
My family has always shamed him and my husband and me for this. I don't care. My beautiful child is alive and contributing to world today. Every night I give thanks for his therapist and the inventor of Lexapro. I do not believe that he would be here today if he had not had access to both.
The older I become, the more I realize that people condemn, shame and blame others when they should stop, ask questions and become informed. I hope to model those behaviors to my children and my community.
Thank you, Chris, for addressing this topic. I have certainly lived it.
This is certainly one of the many things about mental health that needs to be destigmatized. My own major depression dates back to early childhood and is severe and debilitating when untreated, but is controlled more or less completely by a fairly low dose of a very standard drug. I’ve never even had more than trivial side effects. I’m super lucky that it’s been so simple - that’s by no means experience - but fear mongering and moralizing could easily have kept me from, literally, the capacity to function as a human being.
One point, speaking as a medically complex person: When this comes up, people make comparisons to the treatment of non-mental illness, pointing out how we wouldn’t shame a person with disease X for taking drug Y. Except that people do get shamed for that in some quarters. There’s always somebody convinced that everyone can fix everything - from diabetes to arthritis to infertility to cancer - by being sufficiently committed to the right lifestyle change. And lifestyle matters. But if your disease is one that’s successfully reversed by nothing more than a change of diet and some yoga, you need to realize you’re one of the lucky ones.
Thanks, Chris - I have been committed to "doing the work" for a long time and started therapy over 5 years ago. Something still felt "off" but I was so hesitant to start medication based on societal stigma and "what others might think", especially family and friends.
I'm proud (and a little nervous, I'll admit) to share that I actually just started a medication last week. The more I do the work and take the time to learn about myself and my anxiety and ADHD, the more I am able to lean into trusting the resources that I believe will help me be the best version of myself. Thanks for sharing your journey with us. It makes me feel less alone!
Congratulations on doing what YOU need to do for yourself. No shame in using all the tools available to us. Signed, Happy Med Taker for 20 years 😁
I am so grateful for antidepressants and Ritalin. Without those one of my daughters would probably no longer be alive. Seeing her struggling over many years, living in the constant fear she would no longer be able to go on enduring her pain was the hardest thing I ever had to do, and I can only try to imagine how absolutely unbearable this must have been for her. Sunshine and exercise are fine - but if you find yourself in a place where you cannot even realise that both exist makes those ideas simply ridiculous.
Thank you Chris for this thread, from the bottom of my heart. 💙
As a pharmacist, I work closely with patients under mental health medications and I consistently encourage the integration of non-medicinal strategies. Beyond their potential to, indeed, complement treatment effectiveness, I believe that they empower patients, giving them a sense of control over their condition and an active role in their therapeutic journey. Patients not only gain a greater sense of agency but also discover a newfound control over their well-being.
I've taken psychiatric meds for 23 years. One of my therapists over the years shared this with me, and it has helped me tremendously: "Medication's function is to make you stable, not to make you happy. Once you are stable, you can start figuring out what the "happy" is." That's why it's hard sometimes to notice the difference in mood, or at least to explain it. When you have been unstable and dysfunctional for so long, it's hard to recognize what stability feels like - much less happiness. Once the meds helped me stabilize, happiness became a possibility and hope became real. Life isn't always easy, but the meds keep me functional - I have to work at keeping myself happy!
A younger relative of mine started taking medication and asked me what normal felt like. I made my best stab at it before admitting defeat and confessing that I don't know what "normal" feels like; I only know what "the meds are working" feels like.
Normal is just a setting on a dryer!
I think of medication as another tool in one’s toolbox, the same way therapy, exercise, mindfulness, coping strategies, etc. are also tools. The trick is using the right tool for the right job. You don’t use a hammer to insert a screw — it’s not made for that — like exercise (or whatever) may not be the right tool for treating profound anxiety or depression. But with a toolbox, you have options.
As the meme goes, if you don't make enough neurotransmitters, store bought is fine.