Antipsychotic Medication To Treat Schizophrenia Essay

For people with schizophrenia, going about their daily lives can sometimes be very difficult. There are many good medications that have great benefits and with the right dosages, people with this problem can be helped. Most people would agree that if a drug can help “fix” a disorder, then that person should not stop taking it. Doctors try to make sure that their patients take their medications, but the patients do not always agree with this. For a huge percentage of the population of those affected with this disorder, taking their prescribed medications at the exact times, and staying on a schedule, is important to remaining healthy. However, while people take medications to get better, there can be negative consequences to this.
Some schizophrenics will feel the negative side effects of their medicines, and as a result, wish to stop taking them. However, if they decide to stop taking them for other reasons, this may not be acceptable. For example, “55% of individuals not taking medication did so because they did not believe they were sick” (Mental Illness Policy Org, 2011). In these cases, sick people should be urged to continue taking their pills. One thing that schizophrenics, and other people with mental disorders need to understand, is that to continue their mental stability, they must keep taking their medicine, because this lead to problems.
Friends and family members of a schizophrenic might not understand the full extent of the side effects that these medications can create. This can make it difficult for them to understand why anyone would want to stop taking medicine. In other cases, they might think that their friend simply forgot to take their pills at the proper time. Many times the general public believes that schizophrenics should have to take every medicine their doctor gives them, no matter what. But, they do not always understand the amount of pain or stress these medicines can cause the patients. Because of this, those taking the drugs should be able to choose to stop taking them if the side effects become too uncomfortable for them to handle.

References

Mental Illness Policy Org. (2011). Anosognosia is major reason why some individuals with
severe psychiatric disorders often do not take their medications. Retrieved from:
http://mentalillnesspolicy.org/medical/medication-noncompliance.html