There is no stigma to taking needed medication
Many people respond to a psychiatric diagnosis and medication recommendations by saying that they are simply “not a pill person”. It seems that the idea of having to take a pill every day is a daunting thought to some and a sign of weakness to others.
In truth, there is no such thing as a “pill person”. Although many people seem to have a specific idea in mind of the kind of person likely to take pills, this doesn’t really exist. People are people – some experience medical problems that need to be treated, others may not. Most people would prefer not to have the medical problem or the need to be treated.
Some people have no problem with the idea that a person with a heart condition should take cholesterol-lowering drugs or that a person with diabetes needs to take daily insulin shots and yet object when the subject turns to psychiatric illnesses such as depression, anxiety disorders or bipolar disorder.
Society as a whole needs to understand and accept the validity of psychiatric illness as just that – illness that can and should be treated. The only difference is that in the case of psychiatric illness, it is the brain being affected rather than the heart or pancreas. Just like a heart condition or other serious chronic disease, mental illness often causes premature death and many other serious problems.