Question On Medication For Mental Illness

[jazzytakara]

I may be starting therapy in the near future, and I was just wondering what the church teaching are on matters of medication to treat mental illness in the event they prescribe me anything to deal with certain things. If someone could let me know that would be great, a part of me has been avoiding seeing a professional in fear of such medications...I don't know if I would still be me if I took them and if I'm not, I wanted to know that I wasn't offending God for being on them.

[CatherineM]

My husband has Schizophrenia. Without his medication, he would be living on the street eating out of a dumpster, or worse. He starts every day thanking God for the gift of the doctors who prescribe the medicine, the pharmaceutical company that paid to develop the medication, the insurance that helps pay for it, and the insight to know that he needs to take it.

Had he been born in another time, he might have been burned at the stake. If he had been born in another country, he might have been locked in a room or chained to a tree. We are all given crosses. Mental illness is a very heavy one. God sends these treatments to us as a gift to help us carry these heavy crosses. Think of your medication as Simon the Cyrene.

A mental illness is a chemical imbalance in many cases. Sometimes because of genetics or injury during the first month of pregnancy. Sometimes we never know what has caused it. Diabetes is similar in that it requires a lifetime of medication and monitoring and occasionally hospitalization.

If you had diabetes or epilepsy, would you be questioning whether you should take your medication? Work with your doctors. Allow time for the medication to take full effect. It can take weeks or months to stabilize properly. Sometimes it takes trying more than one medication or different dosages to find the right fit for you. Don't give up. Don't give in. Don't lose hope. Most importantly don't stop taking your medicine without talking to your doctor.