By Karen Kalata
Having been on mental health medications for most of my life, I am surely the one that knows all about them and the importance of knowing and staying on medications to treat my condition.
If you have been diagnosed with a mental health issue. Understand mental health medications may be just what you are looking for to learn more about. So first know that if you are experiencing symptoms that interfere with your normal functioning or have had an episode just know that you may have to see a specialist.
A specialist who works in the mental health field will be either a psychiatrist or a mental health nurse practitioner. These professionals know all about mental health medicine and what prescriptions are used to treat specific symptoms or a specific disagnosis.
Knowing What Mental Health Medication Is
There are different types or classifications of mental health medications and the first thing to be aware of is that it takes from 4 to 6 weeks for these new drugs to get into your system so you feel the full effects.
First know that there are different classifications or groups of mental health medications.
They are:
- Antidepressants
- Anti-Anxiety
- Benzodiazepines
- Stimulants
- Antiipsychotics
- Mood Stablilzers
So whatever your symtpoms or diagnosis is, a good practitioner should prescribe the right classification of drugs for you and explain exactly what they are used for and are supposed to do. You may have some questions for your practitioner so don’t be afraid to ask.
Researching Your Mental Health Medications
After your initial office visit, take some time online to do some preliminary research about your drugs and how they are supposed to help and even what the side effects are.
Just know it takes time, weeks or often months, get on all of the right medications to treat the symptoms you are experiencing. All different medications react and help all people in different ways. So just know yourself and be aware of the details and experiences in your life and see how you are feeling and how things have changed.
Your responsibility is to know what you’re are taking compared to how you are feeling. And making a concentrated effort not to mismanage your drugs and also make a commitment to getting the help you need. This will be medication management and also psychotherapy.
Staying On Your Medications For The Long Term
It’s imperative that you stay on your prescription medications for the long term. They initially take time to get into your system. Hopefully after four to six weeks, you will feel a bit different and some of your symptom may have gone away.
Just know that you will feel the full benefits, or even if you don’t feel much different, do pay attention to the details of your life. See how things have changed for you. With mental health medication, often the best form of treatment is to have a psychiatrist and a therapist work with you to treat your issues.
So medication therapy and psychotherapy are the best ways to treat your condition. So make the commitment to get well and stay well. Choose to get the help you need, get your medicine, research your medications and stay on your medications. The long term will be better and brighter as a result of it.