It can be fun to watch two athletes or two teams go head-to-head in competition, especially when they are fairly evenly matched. A football game featuring the top two teams in the country. A tennis match featuring a wily veteran and an electric youngster. A boxing bout featuring the current champ and a fighter looking to reclaim the title.
But barring the occasional incredible upset, sports are a bit less engaging when the competitors are widely separated in terms of skill. Think of a preseason college basketball game featuring a powerhouse Division 1 team and a Division 2 squad from a small school. In a case like that, the outcome of the game is all but predetermined. You might watch if you have a rooting interest in one of the teams involved, but otherwise, this sort of game does not attract a lot of attention.
When it comes to addressing mental health concerns, an uneven matchup can sometimes be in play. That matchup? A competition between illicit drugs and prescription medications for the most effective treatment for mental health disorders.
The Challenger: Illicit Drugs
Many people struggling with a mental health disorder also develop a substance use disorder. This is often due to a person’s efforts to “self-medicate” in an attempt to address the symptoms of a mental health challenge.
It is easy to see how that might happen. Maybe a person starts to have a couple of drinks after work as a way to wind down before going home—but eventually finds themself drinking far more than a couple of beverages. The result might be a substance use disorder centered on alcohol.
Or maybe a person starts to dabble with cocaine because the drug offers a rush that seems to leave symptoms of a mental health disorder behind. Soon enough, the cocaine use can lead to devastating physical and mental health problems—making things worse rather than better for the person who hoped to get relief from difficult feelings.
From those two examples, it is easy to see why illicit drugs should not be your pick for defeating a mental health disorder. If you want more details and examples, however, you can find them in this previous post.
The Champion: Mental Health Medication
While illicit drugs are a terrible way to address a mental health disorder, medications prescribed by a doctor can be a key part of efforts to improve your mental well-being. While it may take some trial and error for you and your doctor to find the right medication (or combination of medications) to address your particular needs, the effort is generally well worth it. Medication can be a key part of any strategy to address the various kinds of depression, anxiety, or panic disorders, or a disorder resulting from traumatic experiences.
As a rule, medication taken for mental health is most helpful when it is combined with therapy. The one-two punch of medicine and therapy is generally considered the best option for improving your mental health and maintaining those improvements over time.
When the Champ Is Not Playing By the Rules
There are occasions when prescription medication can undermine your mental health rather than support it. That can happen when you are not careful to follow your doctor’s and pharmacist’s instructions for taking the medication.
For some people, this happens because they like how a drug makes them feel (better feelings are among the goals when taking mental health medication, after all) and decide to take a little bit more than prescribed or to take more doses per day than they should.
Once a person is using a medication improperly, that medication switches from something positive to something negative. The champion (medication) becomes the challenger (illicit drugs)—and suddenly the wrong side is winning. It is absolutely essential that you strictly follow the instructions you are given for any prescription medication to ensure it works for you instead of against you.
We took a look at the problems caused by the misuse of prescription drugs in more detail in this previous post.
The Winning Move Is Getting Treatment
Unfortunately, there is still a lot of stigma attached to mental health disorders in our society. As a result, many people do not seek out the help that they need to improve their mental well-being. We would like to suggest, however, that you can make a winning move for yourself—and work toward defeating the stigmatization of mental health disorders—by pursuing effective treatment for your mental health challenges.
That effective treatment is on offer from Peak View Behavioral Health. Located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Peak View is staffed by a team of professionals who treat each person we serve with compassion and respect. You will receive evidence-based treatment that is supported by our high levels of expertise, our years of experience, and our commitment to an ethos of empathy.
If you are struggling with a mental health disorder, the time to get the help you need is right now. At Peak View, we will help you renew the balance in your life and embrace the hope of a better tomorrow made possible by better mental health.
