The Psychology of Medication Hesitation: Why People Resist Treatment
Mental health medication can be a helpful form of treatment. However, unfortunately, there is still a mental health stigma that is present in our current world. Internalized stigmas toward mental health medication can develop without people being aware of it. It’s important to remember that taking medication for mental health is just as valid as taking medication for physical health. One way to move past medication stigmas is to provide medication education to the public and people in our lives. Most of the time, when people are resistant to taking mental health medication, they just haven’t been educated on how these medications can be helpful.
The Role of Mental Health Stigma
As we mentioned above, mental health stigmas play a large role in people hesitating or resisting taking mental health medications. People may believe that they don’t need medication, or they are fearful that it will change their personality. Oftentimes, mental health stigmas can turn into fears toward psychiatry as a whole.
Common Psychiatric Medication Fears
There are some common medication fears that people tend to struggle with regarding psychiatric medication. For example, people may fear the side effects that come along with taking medications. Another common fear is that medications will change the person’s personality or emotions. People might also fear becoming dependent on medication. As we mentioned above, being educated about the mechanisms and side effects of medication is the best way to combat these fears.
How to Help with Medication Resistance
Unfortunately, stigmas can be more powerful than actual evidence for people. The first step to helping someone work through medication resistance is providing them with education and validation of their fears. Validation is important for the person who is fearful to feel psychologically safe and, therefore, able to share how they really feel.
The psychology of medication hesitation can often have a lot to do with mental health stigmas towards medication. Working through these stigmas helps people to move past their fears or hesitations so that they can benefit from the helpful parts of mental health medication. Being hesitant about medication is valid. Working with a psychiatric professional or therapist can help to educate people on the actual mechanics of medication. Professionals can help patients feel more comfortable and understand how medications work. This can help to decrease patients’ fears and help them adopt an active role in their treatment. There is nothing wrong with being hesitant to take mental health medication. However, we hope that you take the time to continue learning more and see how helpful these medications can be.
If you (or someone you love) may benefit from working with us, we are here for you! Reach out to us today if you are ready to start your therapy journey. We are here for you every step of the way.
References
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10220277/
https://www.nami.org/treatments-and-approaches/mental-health-medications/
https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp-rj.2018.131101
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7270631/
Keywords: psychiatry, medication fears, mental health stigma, medication education