Month: September 2019

Nowadays, it seems everyone has a label. It seems everyone is diagnosed with something. It seems pharmacies are handing out prescription meds left and right. Has society gone haywire with the medications? Should we, as my dad says, “Let kids be kids?” Instead of listening to the know-at-alls on Reddit, listen to someone who has a first-hand experience with this topic: me. 

Based off of my family experience, children who suffer from any mental illness absolutely need to be medicated. My family involves a couple people with mental illness. One of them is my brother Marcus. He is fourteen years-old and suffers from depression, ADHD, and a form of mild autism called Aspergers. The other person is my uncle Ben. He is twenty-seven years-old and suffers from depression. Both of them went down very different paths. My mom chose to seek medical help since my brother was about six, giving him medication, and making him go to therapy. My grandparents (The parents of my uncle) did not go the medicated route, and he’s never went to therapy either. My uncle tries to deal with his burdens on his own. 

You can tell the positive effect medication has on kids because of how much better my brother copes with his mental illness than my uncle. My brother, who has gone through medication and therapy, is a completely different person than he was in 2012. He threw many tantrums, and would stay up in his room for pretty much the whole day. Now, he has great control of his emotions, and is an active member of our family, even finding his own hobbies, such as playing the piano, and acting. My uncle, who did not go the medicated route, is twenty-seven, still living at his parents’ house. He has little to no control of his emotions, his outbursts make it extremely hard to be around him. It gets much worse than that, but I don’t want to share with you all because it’s a family business. Just no, it’s not a pretty picture.

Many people who are against medication, make the case once kids are on medication, they become zombies, and walk around all day with no emotion or motivation. From my experience with my brother, this is not true in the slightest. The only changes I saw in my brother was his appetite. He was never too mellow, never slept for long periods of time, and most importantly, never lost who he was. He is energetic, and has lived with a purpose. If you don’t want to listen to some stuck-up, privileged teenager such as myself, listen to a doctor. Joel L. Young (M.D.) states in his article on Psychiatric Medication (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/when-your-adult-child-breaks-your-heart/201710/when-your-child-needs-psychiatric-medication) , “So while parents are understandably concerned about side effects, those who choose a skilled doctor have much less to worry about.” Your child’s side effects are in the doctor’s hands. Any good doctor, who knows what they are doing, will limit a child’s experience with side effects. 

Many worry medications will change who the child is. They believe it changes the kid’s brain to the extent where they’re a more boring version of themselves. This is not the case. Psychologist Ellen Hendriksen in her article (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/should-kids-take-psychiatric-medication/) touches on this issue, “it’s important to remember that untreated mental illness can also harm brain development. Early medication can help prevent the illness from getting worse or becoming neurally entrenched.” Leaving a mental illness unchecked can ruin a child’s brain until the point the mental illness has engulfed their brain. For my uncle, as much as it pains me, it’s probably too late for him. He’s done nothing in his twenty-seven years of living to help his illness. When a child receives medication, it helps stabilize their brain. 

Kids absolutely need medication if their affected by a mental illness. I have had a first-hand experience with people who suffer, and I’ve read trustworthy articles as well. Stop being close-minded, and help those in need. If someone has a peanut allergy, and they eat peanuts, we give them medication to help themselves. Why is it any different for those with psychological illnesses?

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