Medication

The late comedian, Mitch Hedberg, said the following:

"Alcoholism is a disease, but it's the only one you can get yelled at for having. 'Darn it, Otto, you are an alcoholic. Darn it, Otto, you have Lupis.' One of those two doesn't sound right."

For some reason, when illness involves mental health, people tend to blame the person who has the illness more than they may blame someone for having other types of illnesses. Similarly, the person who has a mental illness is often more ashamed to admit it and seek help.

Sometimes, mental health treatment, including the use of medication to help with mental and emotional challenges, is viewed as being less-scientific than the treatment of other types of illnesses. For example, we may think a child with pneumonia needs a certain antibiotic, but when he has depression, while it may be true that he could benefit from an antidepressant, it should only be a very last resort and only if he it too "weak" to snap out of the depression through willpower alone.

I once went to visit a cardiologist for high cholesterol. I had taken two different medications prescribed by my primary care doctor, yet my cholesterol hadn't improved. Because of a history of heart problems in my family, I decided seeing a specialist may be a good idea. Prepared for a lecture about my weight and the harm of eating dairy products, I was amazed when the cardiologist said, "let me make one thing clear, your cholesterol being high is a product of your genes and has nothing to do with your weight or lifestyle. You can try dieting and exercising, and that might help a small amount, but what you really need in medication and you will need to take it for the rest of your life."

I asked why, then, neither of the two medications I had taken previously had lowered my cholesterol. He said, "This is not an exact science. Everyone's body responds differently to medication. It is simply a matter of trying one and then another until we find one that actually works."

I've heard that logic used before (and criticized) in mental health treatment. For example, a man is depressed and prescribed an antidepressant. A month or two passes with no improvement, so they try a different one. The doctor is criticized for not knowing what he/she is doing and the problem is viewed as being behaviorally based rather than medical in nature. But no one thought my cardiologist was unskilled simply because we needed to try a third cholesterol medication. And I didn't feel embarrassed to be there for help, especially once he told me it was not my fault and there was nothing I could do, aside from medication, to improve the situation.

When it involves cholesterol, it is fine to believe that exercise and diet can't change it and to tolerate trying three or four different medications before finding the right fit. When it is depression, we might feel that we can try medication, but what would really help is a little bit of exercise and fresh air as well as a better attitude and more determination to be happy.

Personally, I do not believe that medication and genetics alone are the answer for any condition, whether physical or mental in nature. I believe diet and exercise are an important part of lowering cholesterol in combination with medication just as much as I believe that there are some things a person can do in combination with taking antidepressants that will be helpful. I'm just bothered by the assumption that when something involves mental rather than physical health, it is often considered to be the person's own fault and if the first medication attempted is not successful, the whole process is seen as being unscientific.

People who suffer from mental, behavioral and emotional challenges should be just as able to seek help medically and in other ways as those with other physical ailments. And they should be able to do so without shame or guilt.