My Support Forums - View Single Post - Family members who are anti-medicine

sarahsweets · Sep 24, 2021 at 04:01 PM

Hey @why98:

Quote:

Originally Posted by why98

How do you deal with someone who is against psychiatric medicine? My brother and I are very close and agree on most things. But he is so anti psychiatric medicine. He read that you can stop a panic attack by deep breathing, so he thinks that anti anxiety meds are unnecessary. I try to tell him that some people need both medicine and to do behavioral things to cope. He just gets angry and says I'm weak. It's very hurtful.

To put it simply you dont deal with someone who is anti-psyche meds if you can help it. Have you firmly told him how you feel? And I dont mean just telling him that you need meds and that its not so easy for you, I mean looking up something for him to read or to share with him, and laying down a boundary?
Something like "brother it bothers me that you feel the way you do about mental health meds. if you think taking them makes you weak then do you think I am weak because I also take them? We can no longer have discussions about mental illness and its treatments because I feel like your anti-med stance and lack of support for my struggles means that we will never agree. I'd appreciate you not discussing this with me anymore".
Once you lay it out like that or some other way the next thing is to come up with a consequence or bottom line and then stick to it.
"if you do not stop bringing this subject up then I will have to limit the time I spend with you or talk to you because I am trying to be well and your outdated and antiquated views on meds are making it really hard for me."
Just my opinion.

How do I deal with a person like this? I'd like to be able to depend on him when I'm having a panic attack, but I can't if he equates meds with weakness. I feel like there's no convincing him.[/QUOTE]