Telling people that they’re ‘crazy’ or they’ll become an addict if they take psychiatric medications does more harm than good.
A family member notices you taking an antidepressant and suggests that if you smiled a little more you’d be able to beat that depression without drugs. Other well-meaning friends or family don’t hesitate to share their opinions — often based on myths or misinformation — about psychiatric medications with you, or anyone else. It’s pill shaming and it’s simply another way of stigmatizing mental illness, doctors say.
One in six Americans takes some kind of psychiatric drugs, mostly antidepressants. Many people who have a prescription for psychiatric medications also use talk therapy, mindfulness or exercise to manage their symptoms. But it’s the prescription pills that typically bring out the judgy comments. more
