5 Reasons Why People Are Afraid to Take Meds for the Head

Treatment plans for mental health care differ from situation to situation. In some cases, it calls for therapy and in other cases medication is needed. When depression or severe emotional behavior begins to affect your daily life, work, and relationships, it is time to seek help. We all want to end up at the same place, but some need to take a different route to the intersection of happy and healthy. There is no shame in that. The following are the statements that I hear made continuously about why people fear taking meds for the head.

1. “I don’t need a pill to make me happy.”

Lets do a word replacement, instead of happy, put healthy.

“I don’t want to take a pill to make me healthy!”

Make sense? Happy and healthy go together like PB&J. If you are not happy, you are not healthy. In some situations, medication is required to reach a place where you can feel good. Utilize the resources that are available today, and let go of the fact that at this point in your life, or maybe even long term, you do need a pill to make you happy.

2. “I am weak if I have to resort to medication.”

Are people who have diabetes weak because they need insulin to survive? It is all about how you frame it. You are not weak; you are honest about your situation and health. A strong person acknowledges their problem and does something about it. There is no shame in taking medicines if needed. If you get the flu do you take meds? Yes. So what is the difference when it is the flu of the mind. There is no difference.

3. “I am afraid people will judge me.”

First off, make a list of the people who you believe are going to judge you. Now unfriend them on social media, delete them from your phone and get them out of your life. People who judge you, don’t love you. Also, people act as though when you get when your prescription for a head med that it’s published online. If you struggle with people knowing, then don’t tell them. You will be pleasantly surprised that over half the people you know are either on meds currently or have been through a similar situation.

4. “I don’t want people to think I am crazy.”

What is crazy is having the available resources to help you and not taking advantage of it. Reaching out for help is not crazy, it’s smart. People will jump out of airplanes for fun, and we call that “adventure.” However, treating your depression is looked at as crazy. Think about it.

5. “I don’t want to stay on medicine long-term.”

Don’t jump the gun. Get to Point A before thinking about Point Z. You may not be on medication for the long-term, but if you are so what? If you feel like your life, relationships and your day to day has improved since taking medication than why would you stop. Everyone has to take a different route to happiness, and ones not better than the other.

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