Psychiatric drugs are also known as psychotropic drugs that affect the mood, behavior, thoughts, and other mental processes of a body by influencing the human consciousness. They accelerate the chemical makeup of the nervous system and are most commonly used for patients dealing with anxiety, depression, or any other mental agitation. But what if these medications are more harmful to your physical and mental health rather than being useful?
Let’s have a look at how dangerous psychiatrist drugs can be and how you can use them to avoid any withdrawing symptoms.
Common Effects Of Psychiatric Drugs
Medicated assisted treatment is very common for patients of anxiety, depression and drug abuse. Every drug has its side effects and the situation severes, if the dose taken is not as per prescription.
The common side effects of many psychiatric drugs can vary from drowsiness, insomnia or hypersomnia, dizziness, mood swings, weight loss or gain, physical and emotional numbness, attention deficit, change in appetite to the potential risk of suicidal thoughts.
1. Extrapyramidal Symptoms
The drug-induced movement disorder or extrapyramidal symptoms involves muscle contractions, uncontrollable movements, and tumors caused by antipsychotic medication. The symptoms of these drugs could be much drastic in nature as it can affect the daily life of a person, the communication gets tougher, moving around gets difficult and it seems a burden to get through with the daily tasks. The side effects also include physical discomfort, general irritability, involuntary muscle contractions. repetitive eye movement, rigid muscles, tumors, drowsiness, and even seizures. Many first-generation and second-generation psychotics drugs can cause these serious movement disorders that can affect your daily life in the most bitter way.
2. Sexual Dysfunctionality
The typical antipsychotic drug and the SSRI antidepressants are used to cure schizophrenia and bipolar disorders respectively. Both these drugs can cause sexual dysfunctionality which is one of the adverse side-effects of these drugs. The frequent use of these psychiatric drugs can lead to an inability or undesirable delay in sexual activities. Reduction in the arousal or the inability to ejaculate or overall lack of sexual desire in both men and women. Although the particular area is under research many appreciated hypotheses have confirmed that sexual dysfunction is related to the frequency of psychiatric drugs that are taken by three people out of ten in the world
3. Strong Withdrawal Effects
Psychiatric drugs are mostly habit-forming and can cause serious damage to the mind and body of the patient looking for treatment The anti-anxiety agents are prescribed to those who suffer from social phobia, panic attacks, or sleep disorders. The drug is only recommended for short-term use. It gives a calming effect to the brain by increasing the GABA levels but may lead to strong withdrawal effects causing serious dependence. With time, the patient may experience slow breathing, loss of balance, confusion, memory problems, low blood pressure, and dizziness.
4. Aggregate Sugar & Heart Problems
In the case of tricyclic antidepressant, which is recommended for those suffering from migraine, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, or chronic pain, the drug is one of the oldest antidepressants and is used when no other modern drugs are effective in curing mental instability. The medicine is highly dangerous for those suffering from thyroid issues, heart problems, glaucoma, or an enlarged prostate. It can increase blood sugar levels and cause cardiac contractility or sudden cardiac death to the patient already suffering from CAD or arrhythmia.
The psychiatric drugs are usually coupled with cognitive behavioral therapy for significant results in people who are struggling in their everyday life, with an end result of leading a successful life without taking any medication. The qualified health professionals especially the psychiatrist always have a deep insight into our mind, so it’s better to share with them the potential benefit or the risks or any change in mental or physical behavior that may be caused by the prescribed drug and look for an alternative treatment to cure the mental illness in a better and less risky way.
