Mental Crisis a Series: Medication

 Medication is not always essential for treatment in mental illness. In some cases in could be a hindrance. This depends on the diagnosis. I must again declare I'm not an expert on the subject. I have read several books on the subject to help Leah. That is the extent on my knowledge. 

In the case of Leah medication is necessary. When did I think it was necessary? Just as a medical problem. When her life was at risk. I hope we are detecting a pattern here. The brain is the most crucial part of the human body. The complexity of it is overwhelming. Yet we get a little skittish about wanting to treat that part of our body. If I break a bone I'm going to go in and have a doctor put a cast on that limb. My mind is doing some crazy thing, nope leave that alone. I don't think so. The brain controls every other part of your person. It should be sound. 

Another example is a diabetic needs insulin to control their sugar levels. It is crucial they do this depending on the type of diabetes. We don't question this. However, I get questioned about why I have Leah on medication. The simple answer is she needs it. Why else would I have her on it? 

I will go back to the diabetic example in explanation. Sugar levels go up and down. You have to base insulin usually based on that. This is similar to medication for Leah. She grows and we have to adjust. Her hormones change we need to adjust. This was the case during our time in this crisis. She went through a growth spurt. She also is dealing with hormonal changes. 

I went through two different medicine changes during this time. This was to adjust to the changes in her body. This helped stabilize her. Once we were on stabile ground then therapy started to get better. She was able to be in a little bit better control. 

In general a person with ADHD needs medicine. We had that in the news recently. A athlete unable to perform because they could not take their medicine. It throws everything off because the mind is the center of your entire being. It is not some small little issue that you should be able to work past. 

Leah happens to have ADHD and a form of mood disorder. We are on a non stimulant, an antianxiety and mood stabilizer. This has worked well for her. When she is older it might change. She might not need one medication or the other. Mental illness like diabetes or other medical chronic illnesses has to be maintained. Usually that maintenance involves therapy and medication. The next step in our journey is reflection.