Why Should People With Severe Mental Illness Remain On Their Medication For Life?

 

Many people with severe mental illness tend to vacillate between wanting to stay on their medication and stopping their medication. There are a variety of reasons why this happens. Some of us, do not like the side effects of some medications because we do not like how they make us feel. For others, they stop believing that they are mentally ill. And still others, believe that they have been healed of their mental illness. Regardless of the reason, going off of one's medication can cause some serious problems for those of us with severe mental illness. There are many good reasons why we should always remain on our medication and in this blog, I shall discuss some of those reasons. However, before I get into that reason, I would like to share a Scripture with you. James 1:17 tells us, 

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change" 

According to this text, every good gift comes from our Heavenly Father above. I use this text to prove that our psychiatric medications are actually good gifts from God. I know that some of them have nasty side effects, but that is a reason to talk to your psychiatrist about a medicine adjustment. It is never advisable for someone with severe mental illness to ever stop taking their medication. So, how do we know that medications are in fact good? Well, I will allow the National Institute of Mental Illness (NAMI) to answer that for me. They say, 

"The best treatments for serious mental illnesses today are highly effective; between 70 and 90 percent of individuals have a significant reduction of symptoms and improved quality of life with a combination of pharmacological and psychosocial treatments and supports.

With appropriate effective medication and a wide range of services tailored to their needs, most people who live with serious mental illnesses can significantly reduce the impact of their conditions and find a satisfying measure of achievement and independence"

As you can clearly see, appropriate mental health treatment is very beneficial for those of us with severe mental illness. When we are properly medicated, there should be minimal to no side effects, and we should be able to live a functional life. When we go off of our medication and stop seeing our therapist, some very drastic things could happen. For the sake of this blog, I shall focus on three of those things, but there are many more consequences to going off of our medication. If you can think of any more, please feel free to leave a comment below. The three things that I have noticed that could go wrong are the following: 

Death

Whenever we go off of our medication, we are literally risking our lives. Whether you believe it or not, this is a life-or-death situation. The reason I say this is because what could happen when we go off our medication? We will end up going into an episode where we participate in "high-risk" behaviors without even realizing it. For example, one night when I was manic, I left my home in the middle of the night to run around the streets proclaiming some new revelation I thought I received from God. On the surface, this may seem harmless, but at the time I lived in a dangerous neighborhood, and I could have made the wrong person angry enough to seriously murder me. 

Prison

Another reason why it is so important to remain on our medication is because it keeps us out of prison. I say this because again when we are in the middle of an episode, it can cause us to do something illegal. For example, one time when I was manic, I created a YouTube video where I threatened former president Donald Trump. This was so serious that the Secret Service paid me a visit. The only reason they did not take me away at that time was because I explained to them that I was off of my medication at the time. As a result, they told me that I better stay on my medication because if they have to come back, they are bringing handcuffs. 

Health

This reason is one that often gets overlooked. However, it is an important reason because when you are on psychiatric medication for some time your body becomes dependent on that medication. This is why when you abruptly stop taking the medication, your body will have a harmful reaction to that. I've been on my medication for so long that if I were to stop taking my medication, the results would be catastrophic. This is why if you need a medication adjustment, most psychiatrists will slowly taper you off of the first medication before prescribing a new one for you. 

I hope that this blog convinces you to remain on your medication so that none of these things I mentioned above will fall upon you. If you do not like the side effects from your current medication, please talk to your psychiatrist about them, so that he or she can try a different medication. It may take some time before they find the right medication. It took me 10+ years before I found the right one for me, but it was well worth it. If you go off of your medication, it may take a long while for the consequences to catch up to you, but eventually, they will.  The time it takes to find the right medication is worth the risk for maintaining stable mental health. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and may the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all! 

-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate

Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website