TeenHealthFX - Answers - If I Don't Take Psychotropic Medication, Will It Affect My Future?

Depression / Question
Published: November 2, 2009

Dear TeenHealthFX,

I recently submitted the question Should I Have Been Given Psychotropic Medications?. When I'm older, I want to go into education and become a teacher. But if I don't take medication, will this affect me being able to pursue a career in teaching? This is another major reason why I don't want to take it, I'm afraid that it will affect my future. I also heard that unless you get treatment, you can't adopt kids. I'm not seeing anyone about my depression. I haven't gone since I was prescribed medicine. I was supposed to do a follow-up, but since I didnt take medicine I didn't go back. This was like in January. Thank you for reading my question and please respond back.

Signed: If I Don't Take Psychotropic Medication, Will It Affect My Future?

Dear If I Don't Take Psychotropic Medication, Will It Affect My Future?,

You asked several questions – TeenHealthFX will do our best to answer each one. Your main question, whether not taking psychotropic medications will affect your future, depends on the severity of your depression and what kind of treatment, if any, is needed. Some people live with depression that is so mild they are generally able to function in life with things such as school, work, relationships, taking care of themselves, being social, and forming and maintaining relationships without the use of more long-term treatments, such as medications. Others have more moderate depression and may respond well to therapy and changes in certain lifestyle factors, such as maintaining a healthy diet, exercising regularly, keeping a healthy sleep pattern, and staying away from depressants, such as alcohol. Still others may deal with depression that significantly interferes with their day-to-day life to the point that psychotropic medications are recommended and offer significant help in addressing the depressive symptoms.

Whether you will be affected in life by not taking psychotropic medications depends on how you are able to function without them and if you are able to use any other methods and means of controlling your depressive symptoms. For example, exercise alleviates stress and elevates the mood. If by exercising on a regular basis you were able to maintain a stable mood, then you would probably be fine in not taking anti-depressants. However, if you try therapy and other techniques for dealing with your depression but find that symptoms still interfere with various areas of your life, then your life could be affected by not taking recommended medications because your depression is not sufficiently being treated.

Another example might be a child or teen who is depressed largely because of an insufficient support system in his/her life. It is possible that medication could help in the short-term, but a main goal of treatment should be helping that child or teen to build and maintain the peer and adult supports needed in life for guidance, love, and support. Basically the point here is that the chosen treatment depends on what is contributing to the depression, how severe the depression is, and what treatments (if any) have been tried and have not been effective.

Schooling and Careers:

As for schooling and a career, here are two things to think about it when it comes to psychotropic medications:

· Taking a psychotropic medication prescribed by a medical professional should not interfere with your being able to get a job as a teacher. Some employers may screen for illegal drugs, as marijuana, but they could not deny you a job simply based on the fact that you were taking an anti-depressant.

· The only way not taking psychotropic medications could interfere with schooling or you ability to get/keep a job is if you are unable to perform all the tasks of your job because the symptoms of your depression are untreated and interfering in your job performance. There are many mental health issues that, when left untreated, can interfere in a person’s ability to do well in school or at work such as depressive disorders, bipolar, and ADD. If, by not taking your medication, your symptoms of depression worsened to the point where you were not able to maintain all of your job requirements, then that could create problems for you at work.

Adoption Issues:

As far as adoption issues, an adoption agency is going to look at several factors in a potential adopting parent(s) to ensure that the home environment will be a safe one for the child. They will look at emotional, medical, and financial stability – basically the ability for the parent(s) to provide the child with food, clothing, shelter, love, etc. Some agencies may also want perspective adopting parents to take some kind of class that will prepare them for the different aspects of adoption. However, there is not necessarily an automatic mandate that all adopting parent(s) must have mental health treatment before adopting. There might be psychological evaluations to determine how emotionally fit a person is to adopt, but this is different than mandating therapy.

While all parents looking to adopt do not have to go through therapy, keep in mind that if a person has untreated mental health issues that may interfere with their ability to properly care for a child (their own or an adopted child), it would be a good idea for that person to seek out the appropriate treatment prior to becoming a parent so that going into the process they are in an emotionally healthy and stable place.

What to do?

Rather than dropping out of treatment, FX recommends that you consider going back to your treatment provider, discussing all of your questions and concerns, and working with your treatment provider on developing an effective treatment plan that meets your needs. If you have questions or concerns about taking psychotropic medications, it is important to go over them with your treatment provider so that you can have all of the information you need to make an educated decision about whether or not taking psychotropic medications is the right choice for you. If you decide in the end you do not want to take medications, rather than just dropping out of treatment and forgetting everything, speak to your treatment provider about what your other options are. You could still participate in individual and/or family therapy. You could also speak to your mental health treatment provider and doctor about ways to modify your sleeping habits, exercise regimen, and diet that will help to boost your mood – or ways to help you feel more comfortable and happy in your relationships with peers and the adults in your life.

Psychotropic medications can be helpful for many kinds of mental health issues, including depressive disorders – and FX does think it is helpful to go into the possibility with an open mind and to get plenty of information on psychotropic medications before deciding to use them or not to use them. But we can also respect that some people are not willing or not yet ready for medications. But keep in mind that there are other options and that treatment does not have to be neglected all together just because someone does not want to take medication – the key is for you and your treatment provider to figure out what will work for your depression, what is okay for you, and to start from where you are at.

FX would also like to state that some mental health professionals, like professionals in any other type of career, are more qualified than others. Consider meeting with a few mental health professionals so that you can get some second opinions on whether or not you should be on psychotropic medications, as well as to see which psychiatrist/therapist out of the few you meet with seems to be the best fit for you.

FX has done our best to respond to your concerns, however, the questions you ask depend very much on a lot of personal history and information that we do not have. So, again, we do think it would be important for you to meet again with your mental health provider. Share your concerns, ask your questions, and get the information you need to make an informed decision about what course of treatment is best for you. And if your treatment provider recommends something to be part of the treatment (such as meds), and you are feeling reluctant about that modality of treatment – talk about your hesitation, learn about other options, and do not scrap all of your treatment options just because one of the many available options is not appealing to you.

If you live in northern New Jersey and need help finding a therapist you can call the Access Center from Atlantic Behavioral Health at 973-247-1400. Outside of this area you can log onto the US Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website for referrals in your area. You can also contact your insurance company to get a list of in-network mental health providers or check with your school social worker or psychologist to get a list of referrals in your area.

Signed: TeenHealthFX