A Short Post To Reduce Stigma Against Meds For Mental Health
I started taking anti-depressants/anti-anxiety meds yesterday. It’s amazing what a difference it made. Before yesterday, it was a struggle to be happy for long periods of time at a stretch. I could do all the right things—exercise, meditate, read uplifting books, make art, drink water, eat healthy, meet people, go out, sleep—and yet I’d have this anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach or I’d feel exhausted for no reason or get very stressed over the tiniest thing and obsess over it. But yesterday, for once, I felt entirely calm. I had no headache. I even felt authentically joyous. Life seemed a sweet, wonderful thing. Medicines really do help tremendously. You can manage without them, I suppose, but it’s infinitely harder. If a crutch exists, why not lean on it till you are strong enough on your own?
I don’t know how long I will take this med, but certainly long enough that my default mode of thinking becomes more positive and I get rid of this negative, anxious thought spiral. I don’t want to become too dependent on the med and so will take a smaller dosage, once every couple of days. And I do plan to phase it out in a month or so. But it is clear to me that I need it and that the absurd stigma against medicines to boost serotonin has just made it harder to improve my mental state. There is nothing wrong with needing aid. There is nothing wrong with feeling weak and in need of support. There is nothing wrong in using a crutch to recover. There is nothing wrong in using medication for mental health just as you use them to improve your physical health.
