‘No one’s embarrassed to say they took an Advil, why should I hide that I take Zoloft?’

Medication is probably one of the most misunderstood aspects of mental health illness. Even without the medication, people have a tendency to assume being diagnosed with some sort of mental illness means you are weak. As a society, we already have a hard time talking about mental health and an even harder one talking about taking medication for it. There’s a huge stigma that makes us feel uncomfortable to broach the subject, but that doesn’t change the fact that millions of people suffer from mental health illness and there are people out there looking to fight the accompanying stigma.

Meet Haley. She’s a kind, considerate, incredibly intelligent chemical engineering student, who enjoys science videos, interpretive dancing with her roommate, and spending time with her friends. All of that makes up Haley’s personality. Being medicated for anxiety and clinical depression does not.

“People don’t realize your brain can get as sick as the rest of your body,” Haley said. Often if she shares that she’s taking medication, people ask, “Why aren’t you going to therapy? Why don’t you try harder? Why don’t you just be happy?” You don’t hear anyone saying to someone with a broken leg ,“You’ll live. You don’t need medication.” Mental illness can still wreak havoc on someone’s quality of life – that’s why it’s an illness.

In different areas of her life, she was faced with different reactions, but most were heavily stigmatized. “I grew up in the church, and I love the church, but the problem with it is some people think you don’t believe God is strong enough to fix your mental illness. It’s not a thing with physical illness but people will tell you to just pray harder for mental ones.”

Haley firmly believes that this is God’s plan for her. After all, He made the person who made the medicine, so obviously he made it work this way.

A really common misconception about medication for mental health illness is that there is only one set of meds. Haley herself has gone through several types of medicine until she found the perfect combination of pills that works for her. Even now that she does have a set that works, she often has to add medication to supplement them because life changes and with it, your brain chemicals do. Of course your medication has to change to accommodate that. According to Haley, “If you try enough, one will work for your case. But it’s trial and error until then. Everyone’s body works differently.”

Medication is a game changer for Haley. When she takes it, she lives normally. She can get out of bed, drink some coffee, and talk to people without hiding in a corner. When she doesn’t, depression and anxiety is a strange two-headed monster to have. “Anxiety is telling you to go, go, go, go, 100 miles an hour! Depression is telling you it’s worthless, why are you even trying?” She explains. The worst part for her is feeling no emotions. “I’d rather feel sad than nothing at all,” Haley says. Moral of the story: she always takes her meds and her medicine wheel helps her keep track of them too.

Haley believes she’s very lucky to have had her family’s support throughout the whole process of finding the right medication for her body. In fact, it was her mom who urged her to seek out extra help in the first place. Too many people suffer alone, without any support from their friends or their family either because they never even go to them for support or because their support group is too quick to dismiss it.

To the friends and family that refuse to acknowledge the benefit of medication, Haley says, “If someone has cancer, you’re not going to look at them and ask why they’re putting chemicals in their body. You would say you’re proud of them for getting treatment.” It doesn’t have to be any different for depression, anxiety, or any other mental illness.

To the people who are suffering alone, she advises, “Swallow the shame that you have to not go out and find a group, communicate to a close friend what’s going on because there is a 99 percent chance that someone you trust understands or has gone through it. Since there’s a stigma, you might not know it. You’d think you’re alone when really you’re not.”

Mental illnesses are not a touchy topic that you’re not allowed to bring up. The goal for people like Haley is to see the stigma be shed. When it’s less taboo, people will talk about it more, and more people will get the help they need without feeling alone.

“No one’s embarrassed to say they took an Advil, why should I have to hide that I take Zoloft?”