Ladies and gents, a rant on pill shaming.
From the Urban Dictionary: pill shaming is most-often directed at people who take/endorse taking psychotropic medications as part of a mental health relapse-prevention/recovery plan
Why? What is the reasoning behind people having the need to pill shame? Because 'it's the easy way out'? If it's the easy way out, people wouldn't spend the money they sometimes do on them. With pill shaming, it makes it even harder for them to even take those helpful medications.
"You're just taking happy pills." You know what's sad? Is that even with taking some of these medications, people can still have really hard days. Or they can end up feeling like they're numb, have no feelings at all, and end up not taking them because they still want to be able to feel something.
"You're weak for taking them." Uhm, no. They're strong for taking them. Why? Because of all the opinions they have to hear of otherwise! Also, being told by their doctor that they're being put on anti-depressants, mood stabilizers, etc., is not something that anyone usually wants to hear. Unless they know that they really need the help of some sort of medication. For example, someone very close to me recently had to be put onto some medication to help them not have seizures. You know what they told me? They were afraid of what other people would think of them taking that medication. Worried about how it may make people look at them. Worried about being so different that people would bully them. And that's what pill shaming is. It's bullying, plain and simple.
"Why do you need that?" To help them to be able to cope with the emotions, lack of emotions, the craziness that can sometimes whirl around in their minds, to help them concentrate, to help them lead a 'normal' life.
If we're going to pill shame people who take medications for depression, anxiety, multiple personality disorder, or other mental ailments, then we better start making fun of people who take medication for a physical ailment, like arthritis or a heart defect.
There is literally no difference between taking medications for physical ailments and taking medications for mental ailments.
Here's some facts for you pill shamers. More than 44 million adults live with a mental illness in the U.S., with 1 in 6 of Americans having used some form of psychiatric drug. Yes, some people are able to get by without drugs through talk therapy, exercise and some other methods, but medication can be even more effective for some people in their treatment plans.
You know what the worst thing about pill shaming is? It's the fact that it makes people who need help not want to go get it. When the majority of society feels like taking medication to improve your mental health means you're lacking in some way, it makes it hard to even acknowledge that something could be wrong in the first place.
So the next time you go to pill shame, think of that person as yourself, or as your sister, a brother, a close friend, and then think of how they would feel if you said that. It's not cool, it doesn't make you cool, and it can cause a lot of harm that could be avoided.
