Pill Shaming Friends Are No Friends At All
What is it about medication that makes you seem "weak" in some people's eyes?
I had a friend once. We went on vacation together (that was the first mistake). I’ll never forget how wide her eyes got when I opened my suitcase and took out my pill bottles to sort.
I was embarrassed, and I didn’t have to be. Nobody should be ashamed of needing medication. These are the meds that keep me alive. They keep me grounded in reality and away from the darkness that comes if I stop taking them.
Needing Medication Isn’t a Freaking Weakness
People with anxiety feel bad enough as it is. We don’t want to be like this. We want to be able to leave the house with confidence, without a heavy balloon of “what ifs” cluttering our thoughts.
We don’t like wringing our hands in public, holding our breath a little too long while waiting for the waiter to come around to our side of the table to take our order, or anything else that sets us apart.
Anxiety is no joke
If you have it, you know what I mean. People who don’t understand think it’s just feeling “nervous”.
It’s way more than that.
Without medication I wouldn’t be able to function in society. My quality of life would be very low.
Our anxiety can stop up from taking the pills we need
When you have anxiety, your brain can trick you into thinking that something terrible will happen if you take the medications prescribed to you.
It’s a literal leap of faith to swallow that first pill. I can’t be alone if I take new medication because I’m so afraid that something terrible will happen.
Pill shaming makes the anxiety worse
If “friends” or family are giving you side-eye because of the medications you have to take everyday, it pulls you back into negative thinking and fear-based emotions.
Maybe I DON’T need these pills.
Maybe if I just try harder I could live normally without them.
Don’t listen to your brain!
And ignore the nay-sayers. They’re not your friends. Friends should be supportive, not judgey.
The worst thing you can do is stop your meds, especially if they’re working! I’ve stopped and started antidepressants many times in my life, and I sink a little lower every time.
It’s much harder to climb out of that dark and dangerous place.
Let’s talk about it
I speak openly about my use of antidepressants and benzodiazepines. I don’t take them for recreational fun. I take them because I want to leave my house and enjoy life.
Without them, I can’t.
Stigma sucks
We’ve supposedly come a long way, but have we? Sure, we talk about mental health a lot. But I still feel like there’s some hush-hush whispers about the medications required to improve mental health.
Do you know what I mean?
I’m hungry now
I have to go eat lunch. I just wanted to put this out into the world so that other people, like me, feel less ashamed or embarrassed about medication. If you need them, you need them!
Now I’m super hungry
I really have to go eat. It’s hard to think when I’m hungry. I’m going to fry up an egg with some asparagus. Maybe I’ll take an Ativan with lunch.
Whatever it takes to get through right?
Do you want to talk?
Feel free to share your stories about being pill-shamed or feeling “less than” because of your anxiety. If anyone knows a thing or two about anxiety, it’s me.
I didn’t go to university, but I feel like someone should hand me a Masters in Avoiding People.