Psychotropic Drugs & Clinical Applications

This assignment delves into the clinical application of psychotropic drugs. It requires an in-depth analysis of various aspects, including pharmacological properties, therapeutic uses, potential side effects, and patient considerations. Students must critically evaluate research articles from reputable sources to demonstrate their understanding of this complex topic. The focus is on synthesizing information from diverse perspectives and presenting a comprehensive overview of psychotropic drugs in clinical practice.

ALL IN THE MIND: CAN PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS EVER MAKE USEFUL MEDICINES
Name of Student
Subject Name
Date

2
ALL IN THE MIND: CAN PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS EVER MAKE USEFUL MEDICINES
Background Information
Psychotropic drugs are drugs that interfere or rather affect the central nervous system
causing alteration of how the brain functions hence long-term our thoughts, emotions, behaviors,
and perceptions1. Most psychotropic drugs are prescribed by therapists to treat mental illness for
example; bipolar disorder also known as manic-depressive disorder. Apart from medically
prescribed Psychotropic drugs, there are other illicit psychotropic drugs such as marijuana and
cocaine2. Psychotropic prescribed drugs are usually taken by the patient to help them in
improving and stabilizing their mental conditions3. These drugs were introduced for the purpose
of treating mental illness or bipolar which affected the brain and hence changed one's emotions, a
behavior thought and perception. There are four main psychotropic drug groups: antipsychotics,
ant anxiety agents, mood stabilizers, and antidepressants. Research shows that patients who have
been under psychotropic drugs prescription showed more recovery than patients who have not
visited the health care to receive treatment or prescription4. Different people react differently to
drugs, there are people who are quick to respond and others whose body takes time before it
responds. These drugs need the patients to be patient and to go through the therapy sessions, this
1 Paul J, Perry. 2006. Psychotropic drug handbook. Philadelphia, Pa: Lippincott Williams &
Wilkins.
2 American Psychiatric Association 2000. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, (DSM-
IV-TR). Washington, DC.
3 Samuel A, Ball. "Personality traits, problems, and disorders: Clinical applications to substance use
disorders." Journal of Research in Personality 39, no. 1 (2005): 84-102.
4 James B., Hittner and Swickert, Rhonda. "Sensation seeking and alcohol use: A meta-analytic
review." Addictive behaviors 31, no. 8 (2006): 1383-1401.

3
is because the psychotropic drugs do not provide instant solutions, they assist the patient to
control their conditions and if combined together with therapy then there is a definite long time
recovery5.
Psychotropic drugs are being used by many people for different reasons and it’s
important that before using these drugs, the patient must be examined by a doctor or a medical
practitioner to know the type of psychotropic drug to prescribe for the patient6. This is because
the patient may be having other conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart
conditions among others and this will require a different prescription that will not aggravate the
preexisting conditions. Psychotropic drugs are good but they also have negative effects on the
user, and this always happens when there is an under dose or an overdose by the patient. The
world today has settled their minds on psychotropic drugs as being the solution to their
immediate problems7. Marijuana and cocaine are the most abused psychotropic illicit drugs.
These drugs have been used by different people of the different age group for different purposes.
These drugs are equally dangerous with bad side effects, in turn, they have caused a lot of
accidents and even deaths. These drugs alter the thoughts, perceptions, emotions, and moods and
some users say they feel contented, relaxed, after abusing these drugs and this leads to addiction
which may lead to a long time negative effects to the primary and the secondary user8. It is
5 Olivier, Desrichard T, and Denarié, Virginie. "Sensation seeking and negative affectivity as
predictors of risky behaviors: A distinction between occasional versus frequent risk-
taking." Addictive Behaviors 30 (2005): 1449-1453.
6 Ric M., Procyshyn, Bezchlibnyk-Butler, Kalyna Z. and Jeffries, J. Joel 2017. Clinical handbook of
psychotropic drugs. [Place of publication not identified]: Hogrefe.
7 Florian, Seemüller, Möller, Hans-Jürgen, Dittmann, Sandra and Musil, Richard. "Is the
efficacy of psychopharmacological drugs comparable to the efficacy of general medicine
medication?." BMC medicine 10, no. 1 (2012): 17.
8 Franklin G, Miller. 2013. The placebo: a reader. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

4
important to address this topic because of the rate at which the psychotropic drugs are being
abused is alarming and the long-term side effect of these drugs are serious and have affected
many of its users and even caused deaths. The patients who have the psychotropic prescriptions
are at high risk of the long-term negative effect which may affect their lives after withdrawing
from the use of these drugs9.
Major Themes
 Psychotropic drug use and abuse (prescribed psychotropic drugs)
Psychotropic drugs have been used throughout the past years for different reasons. These
drugs have been of benefit to some of the patients and it has greatly helped them to stabilize and
control their mental health conditions. Mental illness condition or rather bipolar disorder does
not affect only a given age group for but it affects any age group. Not all patients with bipolar
disorder need medication, some just need therapy to help them in improving their mental health
and to understand how to manage their conditions without the use of psychotropic drugs10. But
on the other hand, there are those whose conditions need the use of psychotropic drugs to help
them boost their moods, emotions, and perceptions. These group of patients can have a relatively
hard time if they do not get the drugs because they believe that without the drugs they cannot
function or be active as expected of them. There are psychotropic drugs like antidepressants
which help patients who are having depression. This group of patients needs antidepressant drugs
the help stabilize their level of depression and improve their overall mental and physical health
9 Jogin H., Thakore and B. E. Leonard. 2009. Metabolic effects of psychotropic drugs. Basel:
Karger.
10 John M., Kane and Lieberman, Jeffrey A. 1992. Adverse effects of psychotropic drugs. New
York: Guilford Press.

5
but then again there are other remedies that can be used to help curb depression other than taking
antidepressant drugs11.
Anti-anxiety drugs are used on patients who have anxiety issues, anxiety is experienced
in our daily lives and there are ways through which one can deal with it. First is advisable to try a
therapy session before using the anti-anxiety drugs. There are people who have Obsessive-
Compulsive Disorder also known as OCD. This occurs when someone has uncontrolled
reoccurring thoughts and behaviors that he or she feels the urge to repeat over again. This
disorder can be treated by taking anti-obsessional drugs or therapy or a combination of the two.
Another drug is psycho-stimulant drugs, these are drugs that are administered for the purpose
dealing with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and psycho-stimulant drugs helps in
stabilizing the mental health12. Some of the psycho stimulant drugs given over the counter
include caffeine and nicotine among others. Mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, hypnotics and anti-
addiction drugs are all under psychotropic drugs and are used to stabilize people for different
disorders13. Psychotropic drugs like marijuana, heroin, and cocaine have been used widely with
people, some for mental health-related reasons and some for recreational purposes14. Many
people have resettled on the psychotropic drugs believing that that’s the only remedy for their
conditions however the continuous use of these drugs can cause a lot of damage to the body. It is
11 Margaret S, Chisolm and Payne, Jennifer L. "Management of psychotropic drugs during
pregnancy." BMJ, 352 (2016): h5918.
12 Alexander C, Ford, Luthra, Pavit, Tack, Jan, Boeckxstaens, Guy E. Moayyedi, Paul and Talley,
Nicholas J. "Efficacy of psychotropic drugs in functional dyspepsia: systematic review and meta-
analysis." Gut (2015): gutjnl-2015.
13 Johnny L., Matson, and Hess, Julie A.. "Psychotropic drug efficacy and side effects for persons with
autism spectrum disorders." Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders 5 (2011): 230-236.
14 Kalyna Z., J Bezchlibnyk-Butler, Jeffries, Joel, and Martin, Barry A. 2000. Clinical handbook
of psychotropic drugs. Seattle [u.a.]: Hogrefe [u.a.].

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better for the medical health care to look for long-lasting solutions to medical disorders than
giving patients drug prescriptions as a solution to their problems15.
 Resistance
There is a perception that if you experience a sudden change in your thoughts, emotions,
perception, and behavior, you have a condition, and for you to be freed from the condition you
have to be medicated. This perception has led to many young people and adults using
psychotropic drugs with a notion that they are going to get free from their disorder. Many of the
patients have resorted to the psychotic drugs believing that it’s a deliverance so to speak, that by
using these drugs they also believe that these drugs are the only guide to rediscovering their
identities. Most people have confided in these drugs with hopes that in the long term they will be
completely freed from the disorder. It is with this kind of perception that we find many young
people resulting to drugs as the ultimate solution to their problems. In contrary, these
psychotropic drugs do not relieve them from their disorder but rather continue to make an
individual believes that he or she has already regained his autonomy and our perception is
influenced by this interpretation. These psychotropic drugs have imprisoned our thoughts to be
the only remedy to our better future, forgetting that these conditions such as bipolar disorder can
be stabilized using therapy without medications. Some medical practitioners make us believe that
conditions such as these cannot be treated through therapy sessions and they want us to believe
that without the drugs there is no any other remedy to those affected. It is therefore important to
look for other alternatives for conditions such as bipolar disorder, with an open mind that
15 Stefan, Leucht, Hierl, Sandra, Kissling, Werner, Dold, Markus and Davis, John M.. "Putting
the efficacy of psychiatric and general medicine medication into perspective: review of
meta-analyses." The British Journal of Psychiatry 200, no. 2 (2012): 97-106.

7
medication is not the only solution to stabilizing such kind of disorders or we risk a lifetime
medical prescription16.
 Sensational seeking
Psychotropic drugs as defined in the introduction is as drugs that interfere or rather affect
the central nervous system causing alteration of how the brain functions hence affecting our
thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and perceptions. Sensational seeking is a personality trait that
tends to explore the feelings and experiences that are new, complex, varied and highly
stimulating. Sensational seeking is one of the major themes that has led to the increase in
psychotropic drug abuse17. These traits often make a person wants to do things that are complex,
they want to try new things and even do complex activities. People who are sensational seeking
often use the psychotropic drugs to elevate their moods, their perceptions, their thoughts and by
using this drugs they sometimes end up doing things that can emotional, physically and
physically hurt. The fact that they believe in drugs as a major boost to their lives, they end up
abusing these psychotropic drugs which at the long run affects them both psychologically,
physically and mentally18. Addiction to these drugs can be easy but living a life without these
drugs after addiction is way too difficult and at this point is when someone decides to commit
suicide. Once someone is addicted to the psychotropic drugs it is very difficult for them to live
without, since it has become part and parcel of the person. Sensational seeking as a theme
16 Ruth, Elder, Evans, Katie, and Nizette, Debra. 2009. Psychiatric and mental health nursing.
Sydney: Mosby Elsevier.//dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5412-3
17 James B., Hittner and Swickert, Rhonda. "Sensation seeking and alcohol use: A meta-analytic
review." Addictive behaviors 31, no. 8 (2006): 1383-1401.
18 Olivier, Desrichard, T and Denarié, Virginie. "Sensation seeking and negative affectivity as
predictors of risky behaviors: A distinction between occasional versus frequent risk-
taking." Addictive Behaviors 30 (2005): 1449-1453.

8
educates us on how our personal traits can lead us to live a good life without addiction or a life of
addiction full depression. An example of someone who has a bipolar disorder, if the patient is
using the psychotropic drugs as a daily prescription to help him boost his emotions, then the
possibility of the patient becoming an addict of the drug is very high. This is because for the
patient to come up and deal with his emotions he will have to take the drugs and once addicted
it’s very hard to go without the drugs lest you risk having the withdrawal syndrome. But on the
other hand, if the patient is able to control his or her emotions without seeking the use of drugs
for various disorders then it is impossible for addiction and having the long-term effects of
psychotropic drugs19.
 Impulsivity
The term impulsivity has different definitions, but the general term describes an
Individuals tendency to portray a behavior characterized by minimal or no thought, reflection or
even without thinking of the aftermath of a decision. Impulsivity is often a symptom in some of
the above-mentioned disorders20. Impulsivity in itself is a sign of addiction. People who are
grouped as impulsive tend to rely on other psychotropic drugs to help them curb their problems,
these group of people often believes that for them to think wise they will have to use a certain
drug to keep them at par with their thoughts. People who are impulsive tend to do things without
thinking of what they are about to do, why they are doing what they are doing and what’s the end
result of what they will do, this kind of people are at very high risk of drug addiction. The fact
that impulsive people make decisions without thinking through it, some are likely to settle
19 Samuel A, Ball. "Personality traits, problems, and disorders: Clinical applications to substance
use disorders." Journal of Research in Personality 39, no. 1 (2005): 84-102.
20 Sharon, Dawe and Loxton, Natalie J. "The role of impulsivity in the development of substance
use and eating disorders." Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 28, no. 3 (2004): 343-
351.

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knowing that what they are about to do is bad but they just do not care to think through their
actions and decisions. That’s where you find an impulsive deciding to be a drug addict without
having minding the long-term effects of the drug use and abuse. If an impulsive person is
suffering from bipolar disorder for example, and the person reaches for a medical assistance, if
the doctor prescribes a psychotropic drug to him and makes him believe that he needs the drugs
for him to live, without him thinking he will definitely take the drugs without knowing what he is
suffering from and if the drugs can get him out of his condition. This person later uses these
drugs as often believing that he only needs the drugs to survive and doesn’t even think of the
long-term medical effect. The medics should keenly observe the patient and if their conditions do
not require such kind of drugs, then they should be advised on an alternative way to deal with the
condition, and this will lower the cases of psychotropic drug use and abuse21.
 Over-prescription
Despite the fact that there are disorders which are chronic and need psychotropic drugs
description for their treatment, it doesn’t give a leeway to the doctors to overprescribe the drugs
to the users, over-prescription of drugs can create more complications to the patient.
Psychotropic drugs are not the ultimate choice to these disorders, a medic is required to run
several tests to the patient before prescription. Over-prescription sometimes causes immediate
effects to the patient leading to different reactions and if the doctor doesn’t understand the
immediate side effects of the drug and this may lead to another drug prescription which in turn
may have server symptoms on the patient22. Sometimes over prescriptions creates a permanent
21 Frits J., Huyse, Touw, Daan J. , van Schijndel, Rob Strack , de Lange, Jaap J. and Slaets, Joris
P.J. "Psychotropic Drugs and the Perioperative Period: A Proposal for a Guideline in
Elective Surgery." Psychosomatics 47, no. 1 (2006): 8.
22 Julian N., Trollor, Salomon, Carmela and Franklin, Catherine. "Prescribing psychotropic
drugs to adults with an intellectual disability." Australian prescriber 39, no. 4 (2016):

10
condition to a patient which may put the patient on medication for the rest of his life.
Overprescribing and self-poisoning are related in a way that sometimes the patients do not take
drugs as prescribed, some take an under dose and some take an overdose. Under dosing can lead
to various consequences, for example, the body may become resistant to the prescribed drug
leading to the prescription of a much stronger drug which may have a negative reaction to the
patient. Drugs that are not taken are hoarded, and they can become a source of self-poisoning for
children and deliberate self-poisoning for potential suicidal people23.
 Effects of psychotropic drugs
There are several side effects both short term and long term experienced by people who
are using psychotropic drugs. The effects include hallucinations, depersonalization, mania,
suicidal ideation, psychosis, heart attack, stroke and even sudden death. There is a risk of long-
term psychological harm, social harm, economic harm and physical harm for using the
psychotropic drugs. Overtime after using these drugs there is an increase in the possibility that
the person will be chronically ill and these symptoms always lead to early deaths. An over the
use of these drugs causes addiction and dealing with addiction is not very easy because this can
cause a withdrawal syndrome which may lead to other complications24.
Conclusion
126.
23 Meyler, L., and J. K. Aronson. 2009. Meyler's side effects of drugs used in anesthesia. Amsterdam:
Elsevier Science. http://www.clinicalkey.com/dura/browse/bookChapter/3-s2.0-C20090017899.
.
24 Ric M., Procyshyn, Bezchlibnyk-Butler, Kalyna Z. and Jeffries. J. Joel 2017. Clinical
handbook of psychotropic drugs. http://lib.myilibrary.com?id=1015320.\

11
There are chronic conditions which require a prescription of a psychotropic drug
depending on the condition that the person is having. It is equally challenging for the medical
practitioners to get the right diagnosis for different mental disorders. The researchers are trying
to find better solutions on how to approach different patients with different mental disorders.
There are people who are in need of these drugs for them to have their conditions stabilized. But
then again there are those who have had wrong prescriptions of psychotropic drugs for the wrong
conditions, and this happens for example if there are few doctors and a big number of patients,
but this does not give the doctors a reason to offer wrong prescriptions. If there was a way
through which these conditions could be stabilized without having to use these drugs may be
then it would significantly help in reducing the use of psychotropic drugs which in turn will
increase the health of people who are having mental disorders by reducing the side effects related
to the drug use.
References
American Psychiatric Association 2000. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders,
(DSM-IV-TR). Washington, DC.

12
Ball, Samuel A. "Personality traits, problems, and disorders: Clinical applications to substance
use disorders." Journal of Research in Personality 39, no. 1 (2005): 84-102.
Bezchlibnyk-Butler, Kalyna Z., J. Joel Jeffries, and Barry A. Martin. 2000. Clinical handbook of
psychotropic drugs. Seattle [u.a.]: Hogrefe [u.a.].
Chisolm, Margaret S., and Jennifer L. Payne. "Management of psychotropic drugs during
pregnancy." BMJ, 352 (2016): h5918.
Dawe, Sharon, and Natalie J. Loxton. "The role of impulsivity in the development of substance
use and eating disorders." Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 28, no. 3 (2004): 343-
351.
Desrichard, T, Olivier, and Virginie Denarié. "Sensation seeking and negative affectivity as
predictors of risky behaviors: A distinction between occasional versus frequent risk-
taking." Addictive Behaviors 30 (2005): 1449-1453.
Elder, Ruth, Katie Evans, and Debra Nizette. 2009. Psychiatric and mental health nursing.
Sydney: Mosby Elsevier.//dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5412-3
Ford, Alexander C., Pavit Luthra, Jan Tack, Guy E. Boeckxstaens, Paul Moayyedi, and Nicholas
J. Talley. "Efficacy of psychotropic drugs in functional dyspepsia: systematic review and
meta-analysis." Gut (2015): gutjnl-2015.
Hittner, James B., and Rhonda Swickert. "Sensation seeking and alcohol use: A meta-analytic
review." Addictive behaviors 31, no. 8 (2006): 1383-1401.

13
Huyse, Frits J., Daan J. Touw, Rob Strack van Schijndel, Jaap J. de Lange, and Joris PJ Slaets.
"Psychotropic Drugs and the Perioperative Period: A Proposal for a Guideline in Elective
Surgery." Psychosomatics 47, no. 1 (2006): 8.
Kane, John M., and Jeffrey A. Lieberman. 1992. Adverse effects of psychotropic drugs. New
York: Guilford Press.
Leucht, Stefan, Sandra Hierl, Werner Kissling, Markus Dold, and John M. Davis. "Putting the
efficacy of psychiatric and general medicine medication into perspective: review of meta-
analyses." The British Journal of Psychiatry 200, no. 2 (2012): 97-106.
Light, Donald. 2010. The risks of prescription drugs. New York: Columbia University Press.
http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=908738_0.
Matson, Johnny L., and Julie A. Hess. "Psychotropic drug efficacy and side effects for persons
with autism spectrum disorders." Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders 5 (2011): 230-
236.
Meyler, L., and J. K. Aronson. 2009. Meyler's side effects of drugs used in anesthesia.
Amsterdam: Elsevier Science. http://www.clinicalkey.com/dura/browse/bookChapter/3-
s2.0-C20090017899.
Miller, Franklin G. 2013. The placebo: a reader. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Perry, Paul J. 2006. Psychotropic drug handbook. Philadelphia, Pa: Lippincott Williams &
Wilkins.
Procyshyn, Ric M., Kalyna Z. Bezchlibnyk-Butler, and J. Joel Jeffries. 2017. Clinical handbook
of psychotropic drugs. http://lib.myilibrary.com?id=1015320.\

14
Seemüller, Florian, Hans-Jürgen Möller, Sandra Dittmann, and Richard Musil. "Is the efficacy of
psychopharmacological drugs comparable to the efficacy of general medicine
medication?." BMC medicine 10, no. 1 (2012): 17.
Thakore, Jogin H., and B. E. Leonard. 2009. Metabolic effects of psychotropic drugs. Basel:
Karger.
Trollor, Julian N., Carmela Salomon, and Catherine Franklin. "Prescribing psychotropic drugs to
adults with an intellectual disability." Australian prescriber 39, no. 4 (2016): 126.