Speaking for myself (who has tried a few different medications), it is understanding that my issues are not because of some chemical imbalance in my brain. How I feel is a logical response to my lived experience, past and present, and my environment, past and present.
I'm not a doctor, but I did my own research on this topic in university for a writing course. The brain chemicals thing is a theory with some evidence. It is not something that a doctor can measure by extracting brain juice or something from your skull. There is not as much clear, unassailable understanding about why certain medications do or do not work, and this is shown by the incredibly vast amount of ways (some completely paradoxical) in which people respond to them, side effects included. There is this weird song and dance the medical industry plays, making it sound like they've got depression and anxiety all figured out with these pills, which is comically and demonstrably untrue when you look at the results of said pills, or have had anything other than a perfect straightforward experience with medications in your own experience.
It's hard for me to talk about this without sounding like I'm judging people who take medication. I'm not. What other people do in regards to medication is none of my business. Like I said, I have taken medication in the past, and I should add: I do not discourage people from trying medication. But I do encourage people to be informed.
I don't want a pill, I don't want soma, there is no vaccine against wageslavery except euthanasia or the lotto. I want there to be a complete paradigm shift of how society views mental health issues. I want there to be a complete overhaul and reimagining of treatment for mental health issues.
Reading even just excerpts of Emile Durkheim's "Suicide" transformed my view on the topic of mental illness and CTB. Our current paradigm is very focused on making it seem like the cause of any individual's problems are always, strictly, their own fault, and/or that something is literally wrong with their brain chemicals. It's bizarre, considering we have known this to not be true since the 19th century.
I have heard this story so many times. "I have a wife, kids, a McMansion, no debt, a good paying job, get to take vacations, I have friends, and I am still very unhappy."
The gut instinct is to assume that it therefore MUST be a chemical imbalance. Am I the only one who finds it odd that someone has been sold the American Dream, have by some miracle seemingly achieved it, and yet they are still unhappy? Am I the only one who has taken a cursory glance at ancient philosophy and wisdom from yore?
If our current solution was actually working, we wouldn't be seeing an increase in people seeking therapy and medication, meanwhile the suicide rates go up regardless. Note, I am not saying whether or not there is a correlation with increase in medication and the increase in suicide rates. I am simply saying that the increase in CTB is the single fattest biggest most obvious indicator that what we've been doing isn't working except for the pharmaceutical company (and a small subset of the mentally ill population), who probably see their profits increase as more and more people goodbye themselves.
All that being said, as long as it is ethical, I am not against medication. Nobody has to agree with me but I personally see medication as a stop-gap that does not address the all-too-often sociological roots of these issues. More research should be done to better understand and improve these medications, but the problem is that that's all they (whoever they are) want to do. They want everyone to believe the medication is the panacea and achieve a real-life soma instead of taking these issues seriously and asking difficult questions about how we've structured society in such a manner that these pills are needed in the first place.
Obligatory (again) I am not a doctor, consider medication as an option, discuss it with a professional; I am not here to sow malicious seeds of doubt in anyone taking medication, keep taking your medication, please do what is right for you. What is right for you may not be right for me and vice versa. I would like medication to continue being an effective option, not "THE ONLY" option. We are in this together. Be well.
