"Medication".

Abstract

I have written this article because medication is a very important part of dealing with mental illness. I have not read other articles on this subject and have wanted to write about it for at least a year. Perhaps a better title would have been "Over-Medication." My concern with medications is that high doses, sometimes with more than one antipsychotic medication plus other pills, are prescribed. I wanted to raise consciousness about the ability to function when a person is so heavily medicated. In my journey of mental illness, on two occasions I was heavily medicated and found it very difficult to stay awake--let alone function. Another area touched on is the new concept of patient/therapist partnership. Therapeutic relationships in the past had been more a case of the therapist knew what was best. Today therapeutic relationships, I believe, must be partnerships, especially in the area of medication. Patients know when they feel poorly on a medication. Are their feelings listened to?