Quote:
Originally Posted by Lillybird90
Do they really help? Or is it just a big waste of time?
I was curious. My mother is going to get me an appointment
With a psychiatrist so they'll probably put me on something... 
I might have schizophrenia, I am 24 Would taking meds mess me up
for life (do more damage than help) or what? |
I don't have any experience with schizophrenia except for two friends. In my opinion they were far better off on meds despite the risks. They had it at the pretty extreme end of the spectrum and were unable to work even on meds. On meds they could live on their own and take care of themselves. Off meds a whole different story. My good friend from when I was a kid ended up refusing help and refused to take him meds and ended up homeless walking the streets in northern Michigan talking to trees. Not a good place to be homeless. The other girl....every couple of years like clock work she would go off her meds for some reason and end up hiding in the closet because the CIA was trying to find her and people were trying to kill her and all that. When her family went to check on her they would finally get out of the closet and to the hospital and get stabilized again. She would be good for another two years. So in those two cases I would say meds were best.
Like SR says don't be so quick to pin a label on yourself until you get a thorough evaluation. And I don't mean a 15 minute talk with a psychiatrist, I mean like a total of two hour with a psychologist, a nurse, blood tests, and then a psychiatrist. That is how it should be done here in the states. Go to a clinic who offers all of those services and not just a psychiatrist that will put you on meds after 15 minutes.
My experience is with depression so I can speak to that. My Dad is a pharmacist and I come from a medical family so first Like live2ski66 my first inclination is to go to meds. Meds have not worked well on my depression but neither has therapy for that matter but mine is complicated.
The research on depression says that meds work on about 50% of the people. It is most commonly believed in the field that meds with therapy is the most effective. Meds alone don't cut it and therapy alone don't cut it. You need both.
Its a big decision and depends on so many factors. Family history, genetics, history of abuse, trauma, neglect, etc. What symptoms you are having, how much it is affecting your like and so on. Meds have risks but are they worth the risks...