Use of Psychotropic Drugs | Essay

Running Head: PSYCHOTROPHIC DRUGS 1
Use of Psychotropic Drugs
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Introduction
Psychotropic are regarded as essential drugs that are vital for the treatment of
mental illnesses, especially for patients who exhibit abnormal behavior. Psychotropic
drugs are, therefore, an extensive range of medicines that affect the behavior, mood,
and thoughts of a person. They include some medications which are prescribed and
others that are commonly abused. Psychotropic drugs are mainly classified into five
categories, which include; anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood
stabilizers, and stimulants (Cousins et al., 2017). The psychotropic medication
function by changing the neurotransmitters in the brain of an individual and hence
altering the symptoms of a person with a mental illness. Despite their extensive usage
in the treatment of mental illnesses, the drugs have caused a lot of debate about their
effectiveness as well as safety issues. Some researchers, therefore, advocate for the
complete abolition of these drugs since they have serious side effects on users. This
paper, therefore, discusses the controversies regarding the use of psychotropic
medications in the treatment of people with a mental health condition based on
literature from various sources. The article also discusses the challenges faced by
registered nurses who administer psychotropic drugs to patients who exhibit violent
behavior.
Controversies regarding the use of psychotropic medications
Various studies have been conducted regarding the effectiveness of psychotropic
drugs in the treatment of mental illnesses. According to Montejo et al., (2018),
psychiatric medications are very useful in the treatment of mental health conditions.
He argues that the use of these drugs is beneficial in helping to control sleep
disorders. Many patients experiencing anxiety disorders find it difficult to sleep, and
without the use of medicine, they can spend even days without sleeping. This is very

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dangerous since it can lead to further deterioration in the mental health of a patient.
This is where the importance of psychotropic drugs is witnessed. In a survey carried
out among 106 patients who had used psychotropic drugs, approximately 69%
indicated that the use of drugs helped them to improve their sleeping patterns. They
reported that this helped in calming them down, and they were feeling calm after
using the drugs.
A study conducted by Paton et al. (2015) was aimed at finding the impact of
psychotropic drugs on patients with depression. The outcome of the survey showed
that most patients reported that the drugs had a positive effect on their health. They
said to feel happy and less worried as compared to before they started taking the
drugs. Some patients who had indicated as having suicidal thoughts reported that the
impression was no longer present after taking drugs. Most of the respondents,
however, stated to have suffered some side effects of the drugs, especially
immediately after they began using the drugs. For most of the patients, they reported
experiencing nausea and dry mouth. Patients who used the drugs for a long duration
indicated that they added a significant amount of weight resulting from the use of
psychotropic medications. According to Sarlon, Habich & Schneider, (2016),
psychiatric drugs are very critical for mental illnesses despite the little side effects that
they bring about to the people who use the drugs. He indicates that the side effects of
the drugs are very mild and insignificant compared to the benefits that they bring to
people suffering from mental illnesses. Psychotropic drugs are very crucial for
controlling the behavior of patients with violent or challenging behavior. This is
especially important for people with severe mental illnesses. Without the drugs, there
is a very high possibility of the patients harming themselves or other people close to
them. Since these drugs are effective in regulating the behavior of users, they must

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continue using these drugs on prescriptions until their conditions improve. One the
argument of over-dependence on the psychotropic drugs, he indicates that patients
should stop using the drugs systematically instead of abruptly. The dosage of the
drugs should be decreased little by little up to the point where the patient completely
stops using the drugs. Utilizing this method can help the patient avoid the symptoms
associated with stopping the use of these drugs, and they can be able to continue with
their lives as usual.
Despite the importance of psychotropic drugs in the treatment of mental illnesses,
there are some negative implications of the drugs on the patients. According to
Alvares et al. (2016), the use of psychotropic medications results in sexual
dysfunction. This especially happens to patients who have used the drugs for a long
duration. A study conducted in the year 2016 by Bergiannaki & Kostaras, (2016),
established that 72% of patients who have used psychotropic drugs have reported
losing sexual ability with some permanent reporting loss of sexual desire. The
symptoms of sexual dysfunction exhibited by patients with sexual dysfunction
include; loss of desire for sex, difficulties in maintaining arousal, lack of vagina
lubrication, and inability to get sexual satisfaction (Hou et al., 2016). Sexual
dysfunction occurs as a result of the drugs interfering with the signals of the brain,
which bring about sexual desire. The drugs block the dopaminergic activity of the
body, and hence the hormones which bring about sexual desire are not produced
adequately (Sheehan et al., 2015). The consequences of this could be a loss of
fertility, galactorrhea, and gynecomastia. The majority of the patients who were
involved in this study indicated that they had reported symptoms of sexual
dysfunction to the doctors administering the medication, but they were ignored. Other

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patients said that they failed to report such cases because of fear of stigmatization,
especially by people close to them and society.
Some other researchers have a problem with the pharmacology of psychotropic
drugs. Mathur et al., (2019) indicate that the functioning of psychiatric medications is
similar to that of commonly abused drugs such as heroin, marijuana, or alcohol. The
majority of these drugs work by altering the normal state of mind of a person and
hence influencing the change in behavior, mood, or pattern of thinking of a person
(Lucca, Ramesh, Ram & Kishor, 2016). These drugs, therefore, interferes with the
normal working of the mind instead of treating the real cause of mental illnesses.
These, therefore, means that the drugs are designed to heal the symptoms and not the
disease and hence making it ridiculous. Normally drugs should act on the underlying
disease that a person is suffering from instead of the symptoms, but the opposite is
exact for psychotropic medications. They interfere with the cognitive and emotional
status of an individual, and hence they should not be used for treating a patient
suffering from mental illnesses.
There have been doubts about the effectiveness of some psychotropic drugs. A
study conducted recently by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
in the UK that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the only serotonin uptake
inhibitor which is more effective than a placebo in treating mental illnesses such as
depression. Another study conducted by Gureje et al. (2015) indicated that all four
SSRI drugs approved by the Federal Drugs Agency are not effective in the treatment
of symptoms associated with mental illnesses. Therefore, given the adverse side
effects of psychotropic drugs and the reported ineffectiveness, it is better to use
alternative treatment methods such as psychotherapy. Habibi, Hart & Bainbridge,
(2016) also argue that the risk of relapse in-case a patient discontinues the use of

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psychotropic drugs is very high. Therefore, to avoid this scenario, the use of cognitive
and behavioral therapy as the treatment of mental illnesses is more effective and
sustainable for a long time without causing the patient any psychological or physical
damage (Zhou et al., 2017).
There is also an over-reliance on psychotropic drugs among the patients who
have used the drugs for a long time. More than 60% of the patients who have used the
drugs have reported that they cannot function normally without taking the drugs. Even
the patients who experienced mild symptoms before they began using the drugs find it
difficult to get off the drugs. Patients experience difficulties in discontinuing the use
of psychotropic medications even when the signs that they were experiencing get
better. Therefore, withdrawal from the use of these drugs results in discontinuation
syndrome. A person is thus forced to continue using these drugs to avoid the effects of
discontinuation to the point where it leads to over-dependence on the medicines
(Pirker-Kees et al., 2019). An example of such a drug is benzodiazepines(BZD).
According to Sailaxmi & Lalitha (2015), some psychotropic drugs being about a
sudden increase in blood pressure and hence putting the life of the patient in danger.
An example of such medication is MAOI antidepressants and SSRI antidepressants.
Such drugs have resorted to the deaths of several people, especially those above the
age of 65 years Goldberg & Ernst, (2018). The use of SSRI treatment with
antidepressants has been noted as a cause of increased cases of suicide, especially for
patients below the age of 25 years. A study has shown that suicide incidences occur at
a rate of 4.7% for patients combining SSRI and CBT (Baumeister, Ciufolini &
Mondelli, 2016). Therefore, the combination of some psychotropic drugs leads to the
situation of the patient getting even worse and hence resulting in undesirable
consequences such as suicide.

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Challenges faced by registered nurses who administer psychotropic drugs
Registered nurses caring for patients with a significant risk of harming
themselves or others face a variety of challenges. One of these challenges is that the
nurses are always exposed to the risk of bodily harm caused by the patients (Choi et
al., 2016). Most of the patients suffering from mental illnesses exhibit violent
behavior. This makes them very unpredictable because the nurse might not know
when the patient might intend to harm them. Therefore, when administering
psychotropic drugs, nurses have got to be very careful to avoid suffering from
physical harm or violent conduct from the patients.
The other challenge faced by registered nurses administering drugs to mentally ill
patients is that more than 60% of the patient argues that they don’t have mental illness
and hence are not ready to take medicines (Hassankhani et al., 2018). The lack of
cooperation in taking medication, therefore, forces nurses to take extra measures such
as sedating or coercing the patient to take the drugs. This is, therefore, a considerable
challenge since it requires a lot of physical energy and convincing so that the patients
can accept to take their medication.
Nurses also face the challenge of overworking and psychological exhaustion.
Working with mental health patients is a considerable challenge which it’s a toll on
the physical and psychological health of nurses. Since patients with mental health
issues behave abnormally, it is difficult to deal with them at most times, and hence the
nurses undergo a lot of stress. Therefore, nurses need a sound support system to
enable them to deal with the fear that they experience in the process of administering
medication to patients with mental illnesses (Valdovinos, et al., 2017).

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Another challenge that nurses face is that the majority of patients are not able to
take care of themselves and meet basic levels of hygiene. In most facilities, there is an
acute shortage of staff, and this may force the nurses to intervene to assist the patients
in taking care of themselves. This also occurs due to congestion of some facilities and
hence resulting in nurses getting overworked. These severe and unpleasant work
conditions lead to job dissatisfaction and may lead to some nurses quitting their job
due to the excess demands and the toll it takes on their health and personal wellbeing.
Conclusion
According to the literature that has been reviewed, psychotropic drugs have been
of great help in treating the symptoms of mental illnesses. This has been even more
effective for patients who exhibit abnormal violent behavior. However, these drugs
have been associated with severe effects such as sexual dysfunction, over-reliance on
the drugs, increase in blood pressure as well as increased deterioration of mental
health. Other researchers have also indicated that drugs have resulted in death,
especially for older patients. It is therefore critical that the use of drugs should be
minimized, and alternative treatment methods such as psychotherapy should be used
in many cases. Some of the challenges faced by nurses administering psychotropic
medications to patients with mental illnesses include unpredictable behavior, which
exposes them to the risk of physical harm. The other problems include psychological
distress, overworking as well as job dissatisfaction due to poor working conditions
and lack of welfare.

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