What to keep in mind when consuming psychoactive drugs?

There is a wide variety of drugs that help people manage thoughts and emotions..

It is common to hear the word psychoactive drugs and relate this term to the concepts of "psycho" (from “mind”) and drugs (from “medicine”), from which it can be deduced that it refers to drugs for the mind.

While this is true, there are also drugs to stabilize emotions. However, people who start a treatment with psychotropic drugs show the vast majority resistance to taking a drug of this type, and that is why stabilization is never achieved complete.

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Mental health support through psychotherapy and psychopharmaceuticals

When treatment with psychotropic drugs is being carried out, it is important to have a psychotherapy treatment at the same time, since if the taking of said drug is going to be withdrawn in a few months or years, with psychological support the person will not have relapses.

And in cases in which the person will have to be medicated for life, a psychological treatment will also be carried out to that the patient can lower his dose of medication due to the reduction of symptoms (as long as he consults with the doctor beforehand). psychiatrist).

There are medications that help keep patients in optimal mood, and this is done through the consumption of mood stabilizers.

On the other hand, there are some medications that help to manage thought, such as quetiapine, olanzapine, or aripiprazole to name a few; these are used in a variety of cases, what matters is that it works directly on the brain and it helps to that thought follow an adaptive course.

In any case, each psychoactive drug has its way of working in the brain and its precautions and secondary effects to take into account.

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Clarifying the roles before the use of psychoactive drugs

The person who medicates is a doctor; this could be a neurologist or a psychiatrist. The psychologist, for his part, does not have the function of prescribing any medication.

Psychologist

It is the person who studied a degree in Psychology and has been educated and trained in behavioral, emotional and mental treatment.

The psychologist does not prescribe any kind of medication; rather, he is trained to provide psychotherapy to his patients. In addition, the psychologist works together with the psychiatrist and neurologists in their multidisciplinary practice.

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Psychiatrist

The psychiatrist is a doctor who has studied a degree in medicine and has subsequently specialized in psychiatry; is the one in charge of reviewing the functioning of the brain and studying behavioral symptoms and somatizations.

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The work between psychologist and psychiatrist or neurologist

When a psychologist sees that the person is suffering, be it severe depression, anxiety, borderline personality disorder, bipolar, to mention a few psychopathologies, should refer the patient to psychiatry immediately, since the person is suffering from some mental cause where she herself cannot or does not know how to self-regulate, that is where she works as a team with psychiatrists or medical neurologists. Subsequently, the psychologist will apply a psychotherapy process to these patients and it will be more effective once the person has been treated in the medical field.

Psychology and psychiatry are not at odds; rather, these go hand in hand in order to bring the patient to an optimal state.

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Stop using psychotropic drugs?

There are patients who will depend their entire lives on the consumption of psychotropic drugs due to alterations that are normally biologically rooted.

It is common for a percentage of patients to stop their medication because they feel good; however, it is important to emphasize that if the person feels well it is precisely because of the medications, and that in no way You must stop your medication against the criteria of the doctor (having warned him about what to do if side effects occur). secondary). Regularly, when medication is stopped, patients relapse into their disease.

Relapse can be avoided. In this sense, it is important to be aware of the health implications of taking the medication, and to trust the doctor who is taking control of the medication. Relapses occur because they do not follow medical indications and believe that without medication you can live well.

And of course, you shouldn't play with the medication by making oscillations in taking it from a mentality of “today I take it, tomorrow I don't”.

The family and the patient

For the relatives of a person who has a disorder and takes a medication, it is not so easy to understand the sick patient.. For this reason, among other things, it is necessary to carry out psychoeducational therapy for family members once a certain problem has been detected in the patient. There are also institutions that provide information to families about the problems or disorders that the family member patient has.

The medication helps the person to overcome his problem. If you have any doubts, consult a specialized psychologist and/or a health professional.