Psychotropic Drug Treatment

Psychotropic drugs, also known as psychoactive drugs, are chemicals that act on the central nervous system to alter brain function. These drugs are used to change mood and behavior and to improve thought processes and perceptions. Physicians and psychiatrists prescribe medications including, but not limited to, Adderall, Lexapro, Elavil and Neurontin for therapeutic purposes ranging from sleep disorders, hyperactivity, depression and even some forms of pain.

Common Psychotropic Drugs

• According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, some of the most commonly prescribed antidepressants are tricyclics like Elavil, SSRIs like Paxil and Prozac and benzodiazepines like Klonopin and Xanax. The online journal, Mental Health Today, has indicated that psychotherapeutic therapies help improve other treatments as well. For patients with depression so severe they cannot talk, counseling isn't helpful. The right psychotropic medication, or combination of medications, can harness symptoms so the person is less likely to withdraw from professional help. Combined with talk therapy and reduction of symptoms, medication can help patients improve enough to understand the causes of their psychiatric problems. Over the past 30 years, meta-analyses of antidepressant medications have shown these drug therapies help improve symptoms of psychosis, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression.

Reducing Symptoms

• About one quarter of Americans aged 18 and older have diagnosable mental-health disorders, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Of those with a mental disorder, almost half suffer from two diagnosable disorders than can affect quality of life and even mortality. The way mental-health expert, Patty Fleener, MSW and founder of Mental Health Today, describes it, psychotropic medications are like aspirin. Aspirin can reduce a fever but does not eliminate the illness. Medications used to treat mental illness work by reducing symptoms. They can help patients cope better with stress and anxiety.

How Medications Are Precscribed

• Because everyone has their own unique brain chemistry, not all people respond to medications the same exact way. While one patient may need to take Lexapro or Wellbutrin to treat depression for 10 to 18 months, another person may need to stay on medication for half a dozen years to keep symptoms in check. More serious conditions like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder may require that a person take medication indefinitely. Determining the dosage a person takes can also be a matter of trial and error. There are many different psychotropic medications on the market and while one person responds to clonazepam to reduce panic attacks, another person may feel too drowsy or over-medicated on the same drug. When it comes to determining the right dosage and medication, it is important to describe your symptoms to your doctor, including how often you feel that way, how intense the feelings are and how they affect your quality of life. The more information you can give your physician or psychiatrist, the more likely he will be able to find a medication that will control your disorder.