Page 83 - Vision Manual

Using Medication Effectively
Medications are some of the most powerful tools available for reducing symptoms and decreasing the risk of relapses. When people take medications regularly as part of their treatment, and communicate with their doctors consistently, they are less affected by symptoms and likely to have longer periods of recovery. Medications help to reduce biological vulnerabilities by helping to correct chemical imbalances in the brain or otherwise help overcome physical problems that might be contributing to mental health conditions.
Benefits of medications for mental health
Medications have been found to be helpful in two important ways. First, medications reduce symptoms during and after an acute episode of the illness. When symptoms of mental illness are the most severe and troublesome, it is usually described as being a relapse or an acute episode. The experience of having relapses varies widely from person to person. Some individuals only have one or a few acute episodes, while others have them more often. During and after an acute episode, medications can help reduce the severity of symptoms. Sometimes the medicine helps people quite rapidly, and they are able to relax, think more clearly, or feel less depressed in a few days. Other times it may take a few weeks before the symptoms are reduced significantly.
The second benefit of medications is that they reduce the likelihood of relapses. Taking medication on a regular basis helps people prevent relapses of severe symptoms. One person described his medication as a “protective layer between me and my symptoms”. Another person said that medication is “my insurance policy for staying well”. Taking a medication is not a cure for mental illness, and there is no guarantee that you will not have an acute episode again. However, for most people, taking medication on regular basis helps significantly reduce the risk of relapse and hospitalization.
Medications and their benefits
Different kinds of meidcations help different types of symptoms. There are several different kinds of symptoms, and more than one medication is often required to treat all of them. There are four major categories of medications for mental health, which are summarized below:
83 | P a g e