The 7 advantages and disadvantages of the use of psychotropic drugs

Taking into account what are the advantages and disadvantages of the use of psychotropic drugs when treating certain psychological or psychiatric problems is something that many people underestimate. There are those who simply take it for granted that where there is an alteration of this type, the only possible solution is to take medication.

It is true that this type of medical help is very useful in many cases, but it would be a mistake to assume that the only cost of using them is the price of the product itself. Therefore, in this article We will see what are the pros and cons of psychotropic drugs.

What are psychotropic drugs and how are they used in therapy?

Within the field of mental health, there are certain resources that belong to the domains of medicine, since when used they have an objective and organic effect on certain parts of the body. The ones that we will deal with in this section are, by far, the most used, one of the essential work tools of psychiatrists.

The concept of psychopharmaceutical is very broad, but in general it encompasses all

drugs used to treat psychopathologies, that is, mental health problems that result in emotional, cognitive and/or behavioral alterations. Therefore, they are products made from years of scientific research and have an effect on the brain, by directly intervening in the main set of organs on which the processes are supported psychological.

Due to their nature, the use of these substances must always be prescribed and supervised by doctors, and in fact, psychologists are not trained to prescribe them, since they have not been trained through the medical sciences (as we will see, their function is different and complementary to that of psychiatrists).

• Related article: "Psychopharmaceuticals: drugs that act on the brain"

Advantages of the use of psychotropic drugs

The use of psychotropic drugs provides many advantages in the treatment of certain pathologies; if it were not so, it would be difficult to understand why they are used so much. Here you will find a brief summary of its benefits.

1. Its use is relatively cheap

Most of the well-established psychiatric drugs on the market are cheap to make and, consequently, their mass production makes them in most developed countries relatively easy to access through the healthcare system.

2. They give the possibility to experience its effects in a few weeks

Although the majority of psychoactive drugs, if used properly, do not produce significant effects and Persistent from the first take, they normally allow you to benefit from its effects in a couple of weeks. By comparison, psychotherapy usually takes a little longer., since the first sessions are exploratory and serve to develop hypotheses about the causes of the patient's discomfort.

3. Its use is simple

The vast majority of people usually have no problem understanding how to take their doses on a regular basis; You just have to remember the number and number of hours that must pass between one shot and the next.

4. They keep the appearance of dangerous symptoms at bay

Within the balance of advantages and disadvantages of the use of psychoactive drugs, it should be remembered that some pathologies are severe enough to require the maximum guarantees that certain symptoms will not appear; For example, it occurs with psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, in which hallucinations and delusions can generate dangerous behaviors. In this sense, this class of medication has been shown to be quite effective.

Disadvantages of the use of psychotropic drugs

These are the main negative aspects of the use of psychotropic drugs, which make necessary that they always be taken following the instructions of a doctor who has explored our case particular.

1. They can generate specific side effects

All psychoactive drugs interact more or less intensely with neurons., and since no human being is the same, there is a certain level of uncertainty about how it will modify the functioning of an individual's organism.

And it is that although these drugs tend to have beneficial effects to treat certain mental disorders, it is not known in great detail what is due to this, since these molecules have very diverse effects and not only act on the parts of the body that must be intervened, but also on many others. Hence side effects are common; what it is about is to prevent the most harmful ones from occurring.

2. They do not act on the psychological problem

Since these drugs intervene on cells and not directly on behavior patterns, offer relatively superficial solutions. To modify dysfunctional psychological processes it will be necessary to go to psychotherapy.

3. Some psychiatric drugs are addictive

Finally, it should be noted that some psychotropic drugs have significant addictive potential, exposing the person to risk of “getting hooked” on this substance and seek larger doses in the illegal drug market.

• You may be interested in: "Drug dependence: what it is, how it arises and what symptoms it produces"

Do you want psychological assistance?

As I mentioned before, there is no doubt that, for many people, thinking about the concept of therapy applied to emotional and behavioral problems is equivalent to thinking about psychotropic drugs. That is, the typical "pills" that are used for phenomena such as clinical depression or anxiety disorders.

However, this way of understanding mental health is misleading, since there are strategies of therapeutic intervention that does not involve taking medications capable of altering the functioning of the brain.

If you are interested in facing and overcoming a psychological problem from the field of Psychology going beyond aid based on psychotropic drugs, contact me.

Am Thomas Saint Cecilia, I am a psychologist specialized in intervention through the cognitive-behavioral model, and I care for adults and adolescents through face-to-face sessions or online by video call.