Early last year when I was in the psych ward I was talking to a friend I had met on the unit. I told her my dilemma. I had been on the same meds for over a year. They weren’t working. I had been to the psych ward three times during that time, attempted once and slipped deeper and deeper into depression. She had one thing to say before going into her room:
“YOU NEED NEW MEDS!!”
She was right. I had tried to switch up my meds regiment but all of my doctors were being too cautious. Small adjustments here and there, another month of feeling awful. Nothing was getting done.
I started stepping up care levels. Partial, partial, residential, inpatient. The whole time I was complaining: My meds aren’t working! Please do something!
Finally, at a program I truly trust with my life (now), a psych looked at my meds, looked at how I was responding to them, and made the decision: We were gonna switch up everything. New antidepressant. New antipsychotic. New ADHD med that wouldn’t hurt my ED progress. New anxiety med. New sleeping med. He told me it was gonna be a long process. But in reality, it wasn’t. He changed more in two weeks than my doctors did in a year. Some meds stuck. Some we switched up even more.
And it worked!
I felt more alive than I had in years. The meds were working. I could feel them working. I’d never experienced anything like it in my life. My entire brain was kicked out of depress-o stress-o mode and into I-can-think mode!
Now obviously there is a lot more to mental health than meds. Therapy, groups, insurance, money. All of these things play a huge role in mental health treatment. But…
If you feel like your meds are crap and aren’t doing what they’re supposed to do: Advocate for yourself. Say exactly which meds aren’t doing their job. Ask specifically for new meds. Offer to come in to see your psych every week. Commit to some probably bad weeks. Because when you find the right meds, you know it. They work. They change your life.
If you or anyone you know is considering suicide or self-harm, or is anxious, depressed, upset, or needs to talk, there are people who want to help:
In the US:
Crisis Text Line: Text CRISIS to 741741 for free, confidential crisis counseling
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386
Outside the US:
The International Association for Suicide Prevention lists a number of suicide hotlines by country. Click here to find them.