Medication Issues
A couple of years ago, I wrote a book called, The End Justifies the Pain, which is about mental health, coping skills, spirituality and creativity. Based on my experience as a person with mental health challenges, as well as my experience as a public speaker, the book is comprehensive, covering my own experiences, my self-knowledge and some of my creative writing. Although my diagnosis is bipolar disorder, the observations in this book, I believe, could apply to mental health issues generally. My wife recently edited this book again, and we are going to market it with Online Book Club hopefully in August.
In this and in future newsletters, I thought I’d discuss three concepts in my book that audiences, relatives and specific individuals almost universally ask about: medication issues, coping skills and creativity.
Perhaps the most important chapter called, “Making Decisions about Medications,” attempts to explain the problem of acceptance, and ways to promote the use of medications when appropriate. Rather than reprinting all twenty pages, I’ve included the summary at the end of the chapter. However, I’m including a link to the entire book that includes the section about medications, for the low eBook price of $1.99: The End Justifies the Pain - Amazon.
In future newsletters, I’ll discuss coping skills and creativity. Thanks for subscribing to my newsletter, and I’ll see you next time!
Summary: 10 Observations about Bipolar Disorder and Medication Issues
1. Many members of society believe mental illnesses are caused by lack of faith, the inability to handle stress, and character flaws. This attitude may even exist within the individual himself/herself because of societal beliefs.
° The scientific truth explains bipolar disorder as a kind of biological brain disorder with symptoms which are mostly psychological.
° Since bipolar disorder is a biological brain disorder, the illness itself is not the individual’s fault, but it is his responsibility. However, so much time is spent on stressing the responsibility part; it begins to feel like it is our fault. Then, the illness begins to feel like a punishment and humiliation, and this becomes a real problem.
° Since there is no definitive diagnosis or cure, bipolar disorder is diagnosed by observing a constellation of symptoms, studying genetics, and identifying how medications affect other physical illnesses. For example, Tegretol is frequently used for both epilepsy and bipolar disorder, and Risperdal is sometimes used for both bipolar disorder and autism.
2. Because acceptance of a bipolar disorder diagnosis requires a major attitude change, it is something that can’t usually be embraced immediately. Far less complicated ideas, like voting for a political candidate, for instance, may require a number of speeches over a considerable length of time. Yet, individuals with a mental illness are often required to accept a major mental illness, hastily and entirely. This can deeply affect individuals’ self-esteem, identity, and even their spirituality.
° It can be very helpful to identify famous people, past and present, who have been required to accept and manage their bipolar disorder. This can often promote acceptance and enhance self-esteem.
3. Often, an individual’s first experience with bipolar disorder occurs during young adulthood. This is a time when independence and self-discovery are very important. Individuals are away from home, actively pursuing their own interests in school, the military or at a job. Then, usually with no warning at all, they’re burdened with a mental illness, living back at home, and are given more supervision than ever. As more “realistic goals” are sought, it feels like the individual’s life is being stolen from him/her.
° A diagnosis of bipolar disorder may be a life changing experience, but it also provides unique opportunities to explore the mind, enhance creativity, and overcome troubling mind states like depression.
° Although it is probably true that a bipolar diagnosis can be very challenging, it is also true that life is long and taking some time to manage the illness will bring about many benefits in the future such as complex coping strategies that are very useful.
4. Medications may make everything else possible, but they guarantee nothing. They simply give us the chance to lead productive lives. Individuals still face stigma, discrimination, and all the other genuine obstacles associated with our illness. Medications are not “silver bullets” that manage the illness entirely. Self-effort is extraordinarily important.
° In order to avoid frustration, humiliation, and the lack of cooperation that follows, individuals need to be acknowledged for their own self-effort and perseverance.
5. One of the biggest problems associated with medications for bipolar disorder is weight gain. This common side effect creates major health concerns and formidable self-esteem issues as well. Diabetes and hypertension are genuine concerns over time, and gaining thirty pounds in a couple of months is difficult for a young person to bear. Equally important, if the medications are discontinued, the weight sometimes comes right back off again.
° Physical exercise, diet, and sleep can help manage weight gain to some degree. But for a lot of us, even with these good habits, weight gain is still troublesome. But it is also true that for most of us, the illness is much worse. It’s dangerous, depressing, and isolating.
6. For some individuals, medication doesn’t improve their quality of life. Either they continue to relapse, can’t find steady employment, or lack any genuine sense of purpose. The medication has been promised to bring relief, but it has done little to help.
° If the medications aren’t working, perhaps they’re not the right ones. However, there are other possible reasons for not feeling better, such as absence of routines and lack of exercise. In addition, volunteer jobs provide excellent ways to fill the day with purpose and routine. They can also become useful references for the future.
7. Some fairly common, but less identified, problems with medications include initial bad experiences, misunderstanding of the recurrence of bipolar disorder, and the difficulty in treating the illness in some individuals.
° Some individuals are reluctant to stay on medications because they were either traumatized by a misdiagnosis or were adversely affected by a medication. In addition, some see bipolar disorder as a kind of flu that will not recur. Sadly, there are still other individuals that don’t receive substantive help by any medications currently on the market.
8. The idea that medications have a negative impact on self-expression, creativity, and spirituality is certainly true for some; however, probably for most of us, medications enhance these activities because they facilitate concentration, stability, and calm. It is then more likely that daily life and relationships will remain more stable and predictable. This allows for the artist to have one “foot on the ground and one foot in the sky.”
9. If a relapse occurs because of medication refusal, individuals can eventually become hospitalized anywhere, even in another state when taking a trip. Since mental health professionals in these new settings aren’t familiar with the individual’s diagnosis, it makes treatment more difficult. In addition, employment positions and essential relationships may be lost, requiring us to “start over from scratch.”
10. To a casual observer, the idea that an individual with bipolar disorder is unwilling to take his/her medications seems irresponsible or even absurd. However, with no real frame of reference, the observer doesn’t realize that they and society are actually part of the cause for this attitude.
° If individuals don’t accept or identify with a bipolar disorder, then in their minds, they don’t have the illness. This, in turn, means they don’t have to accept the stigma, discrimination, humiliation, and all the other burdens that go with it. This includes genuine concerns about jobs, relationships, insurance, and other important life problems. Everyone wants to “fix” us. Society could help by actually accepting us and “fixing” their own attitudes.
(Please remember these are my own ideas, and I’m not attempting to persuade anyone to change theirs.)
Quotes:
"Friendship is a wildly underrated medication." – Anna Deavere Smith
"Depression is something that doesn't just go away. It's just... there and you deal with it. It's like... malaria or something. Maybe it won't be cured, but you've got to take the medication you're prescribed, and you stay out of situations that are going to trigger it." – Adam Ant
"Medication can help us live a happier life." – Carnie Wilson
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