“Yeh dawaiyon se kuch ho gaya toh?”
Pharmacophobia - Fear from anxiety medication
Pharmacophobia means dawai se darr, a fear of medicine.
Indians are proven to skip or stop medicine when we are in doubt. Negative beliefs make us much less likely to complete the full course and take medicine as we are told. This usually comes from a place of darr- “Dawai suit nahi hui toh?”
Even in big cities, people feel quite negatively towards dimag wala medicine. Toh, if you are scared or sceptical, you’re part of the majority.
Ghar pe bhi, these things can be tough to talk about; people close to you may feel uncomfortable with anxiety medicine, which makes taking it harder.
“ I SEE A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVING HUGE TABOOS ABOUT TAKING PSYCHIATRIC MEDICATION” -Madhulika Agarwal
The biggest fear is side effects: Hum dependant hogaye toh? Neend zyada ya kam hogayi toh? Sar dard hua, ya pet kharab hogaya toh? Weight gain hogaya toh? And once the fear comes, it is tough to make it go away.
Fear can be because of past side effects or someone else’s bad experiences. Fear can be a simple question mark that constantly asks - Do I even need medicine for these tensions? Fear can be the result of our government and hospitals not supporting this type of care, not making too many advances in it and leaving us guessing whether this works for us or not.
So, how to face the fear of taking anxiety medicine?
We can be very involved in the planning of our treatment and make our priorities clear to our doctor about what we want or what we don’t want.
For example: I work 9 hours a day, I have to drive a long way for work, I have to wake up early to serve my family breakfast, I work mostly at night on Zoom calls, I have a 1-year old baby so I need medicines that won’t affect my daily life, etc.
Ask lots of questions. Maybe even discuss a tentative plan to taper the medicine off.
We can ask our doctor what kind of side effects are expected and when exactly they become a red flag, so that we can be alert and also alert them when something seems off.
In turn, it also helps to know if something is a normal or temporary side-effect, so we don’t get too panicked about it.
It helps to continue going to therapy and improve our lifestyle and movement choices around our anxiety medicine, so we give the medicine a proper chance. Therapy and coping skills matter a lot, meds ke saath bhi. Therapy can also help with anxiety about taking anxiety medicine.
The most important and helpful thing is to regularly check in with the doctor, once in 2 weeks is recommended, with planned reviews. For emergency support Tele-MANAS number 14416, from the government of India, should be able to help.
Anxiety care should also consider other health issues, including migraine, diabetes, thyroid, heart conditions, PMS, PCOS, pregnancy planning, breastfeeding, menopause, etc. Yeh sab situations mein dawai lene mai darr zyada lagta hai. Isiliye, it’s important to make the doctor aware of it so that all medications can be adjusted alongside each other. Pregnancy planning is a very important factor to consider if medication is being planned.
Aur apni chachi aur padosi ke experience ko thoda side mai rakho. No two people have the same experience with anxiety medicine. Matlab obviously experiences sunno, jaano, aur samjho, but at the end of the day, we’re all different. Experimenting to find out what works for you and what doesn’t, is still the best way to understand yourself, your body and your anxiety.
Keeping your family in the loop can help them feel a little more comfortable. If you want you can involve someone in the planning of your routine. Tell them about dosages, timelines, etc., while still knowing that you can make your choices (if you are above 18), and see how you feel first. Obviously family important hai, but aapki anxiety aapki hi hai.
The Indian studies and guidelines show how to trial meds safely, taper them gently and even how to go on the non-med route. But aisa nahi hai ki human sab much pata hai.
We need more studies about how tapering works, what the long-term effects are and how to deal with relapses. Female-oriented conditions like PCOS, PMS, etc., need to be studied more in relation to anxiety medication and its effects.
We need more initiatives to make follow-up easier. We need public information about psychiatric medication, kyuki humein aur humari families ko Google karne se toh koi bhi nahi rok sakta.
Schemes like Jan Aushadi PMBJP include some types of anxiety medication with low MRPs. But the cost barrier is still there for those who cannot afford therapy and medication, and especially both at the same time. This needs to change.
For now, hopefully, it helps to know that it is not uncommon to be scared of medicine. Fears are valid, but there are ways to manage it. And we can do this while hoping the system supports us.
At the end of the day, aapki body, aapka pace - sahi information aur support ke saath, decision-maker aapho, aapka darr nahi.
To know more about Tele MANAS, Clinical Practice Guidelines, Jan Aushadi PMBJP scheme,