Medications used to treat mental illnesses work in the brain. Most  medications act on chemicals, for example serotonin and dopamine, or target sites/receptors in the brain.

There are many different kinds of medications for treating mental illnesses. Many medications can be used to treat several mental illnesses. As an example, medications for depression can also help people with nervousness or anxiety. For this reason, it is important to talk to your doctor and other health providers such as pharmacists about your medications to know how they should work for you. 

Everyone should understand why they are taking a medication. If you are not sure why a medication has been prescribed for you, you should talk to your doctor and health providers to find out why.

Medications can be prescribed to help people with symptoms of mental illnesses to get well and stay well.

For some people, the brain is working differently than normal and medications can help the brain to function better. It is the same as when people take medications for other parts of their bodies because they don't work normally. For example, people with asthma use medications when their lungs don't work as they should and people with diabetes can take medications to help control their blood sugar.

Medications that treat mental illnesses can help people get back to their regular activities such as working, going to school, hanging out with friends, or playing music or sports.

Even before you start a medication it is good to talk about how you feel about taking medications and what you expect to happen with treatment. Your prescriber and other health providers that you work with and trust can help you get the facts about medications and other treatment options.

You and your prescriber and other health providers should make a clear plan about how often to meet (e.g. in person at an appointment) or talk (e.g. on the phone) about how you are doing after starting a medication. It is important to keep track of how you feel while taking a medication.  

Your prescriber and other health providers such as your pharmacist will talk about the good things that happen with taking a medication like improved symptoms and the bad things like side effects that can happen.

Medications for mental illnesses do not usually work right away but gradually over time to help symptoms. How well a medication works and when it starts to work can depend on the kind of symptoms you have and how strong they are. You should talk to your health providers about when and what kinds of things should improve with medication use.

Medications may cause side effects and this can happen before your symptoms improve. Keep in mind that not everyone gets side effects. You should talk to your health providers about side effects and how to get help if they happen.

You should expect to visit your doctor and other health providers more often after starting a medication. This can let them see if your medication helps, does nothing, or causes problems.

Your prescriber (who is usually a doctor) and other health providers such as pharmacists have special training and experience with medications. If you have questions or concerns about your medications talk to these people to get more information. 

You need to know what your medication is used for before you can tell if or how well it is working. The best way to tell if a medication is working for you is to come up with a plan for reviewing your symptoms, side effects, and activities before you start a medication. In general, if a medication is helping, your symptoms will start to get better and you should be getting back to your regular activities. How quickly things start to improve can depend on the kind of symptoms you have and how strong they are.

It is very important to talk to your prescriber and health providers about how to tell if you are getting better, staying the same, or getting worse while taking medications.

It is not uncommon for a person to try more than one medication in order to find the one that is right for them. This happens with other conditions and not just with mental illnesses. For example, some people with high blood pressure often have to try one or two medications or even take two or more medications at one time to help lower their blood pressure. There is no way to know which medication will work for what person.

There are many different medications used to treat mental illnesses so if one does not work another one can be tried.

 

Many people with mental illnesses take medications for a long time and lead long, healthy, and happy lives.

How long you can take a medication will depend on many things. You and your doctor will consider the kind of symptoms or illness you have in order to recommend how long a medication should be taken. For some people with mental illnesses, symptoms have caused a lot of problems in their lives or stopped them from doing things they normally like doing. For these people they may decide to take a medication long term to help them to stay well and doing the things they need and like to do.