Psychotropic Drugs for Mental Health

Running Head: PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS FOR MENTAL HEALTH
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Psychotropic Drugs for Mental Health
Essay
Student Name
10/8/2018

Psychotropic Drugs for Mental Health 2
Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
Modern Drug Discovery and Development.............................................................................................4
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................9
References.................................................................................................................................................11

Psychotropic Drugs for Mental Health 3
Introduction
In history, Psychotherapeutic drugs were used as medicines for some diseases related to
mental illness. In Peruvian society over 8000 years ago chewing of coca leaves. Before 13000
years in Timor, the betel nut was chewed. In the Andes Coca was being used before 7000 years.
Coca was also being used in Equador before 5000 years. Recently Lysergic acid diethylamide
(referred as LSD) was developed. According to religious practices, Native Americans were being
used peyote cacutus for some time. These psychotropic substances were discovered accidentally
while searching for edible plants; their use was later habitually incorporated into mystical
ceremonies (Sullivan & Hagen, 2002). In 1950’s, clinicians used various chemical substances to
alleviate their patients, before the introduction of chlorpromazine (Thorazine). There were two
additional chemical treatments of psychological disorders, which are Metrazol and insulin.
Metrazol was used for every type of mental disorder, but insulin was used exclusively to treat
schizophrenia (Valenstein, 2002). In the religious ceremonies, cannabis has been used since at
least fifth century. Psychotherapeutic drugs are containing in coca plants, cacti and other plants.
It changes or alters emotion, mood, perception, and thoughts.
Psychotropic drugs were considered the first-line treatment for different disorders. Social
anxiety disorder, panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive
disorder are types of anxiety disorder (Lieberman & Tasman, 2006). Sigmund Freud was a
neurologist, who published theories on the disorder in the twentieth century (A brief history of
psychiatry, 2018). Sigmund developed psychoanalysis to care for these neurotic patients.
Thorazine and other anti-psychotics were used for severely depressed patients. American
Psychiatric Association (Referred as APA) was issued a Diagnostic and Statistical Guidebook of
Mental disorders. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors were a new class of antidepressant.
Risperdal and Zyprexa were promoted, also widely prescribed (Gnjidic, Simon Bell, & Hilmer,
2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual was elaborating criterion-based psychiatric diagnosis.
General paresis, senility, and seizures are now in medical, but in history these was thought to be
“mental” (A brief history of psychiatry, 2018).
The first licensed antihistamine was Diphenhydramine was used for treatment of mental
illness. Chlorpromazine was used for treatment of patients, those were affected from

Psychotropic Drugs for Mental Health 4
schizophrenia. Imipramine was also used for Schizophrenia. After that Fluoxetine was the first
Selective Serotonin re-uptake inhibitor for anxiety (Marston, 2013). Zoloft was used for
depression, Xanax was used for Anxiety, Lithium was used for Bipolar disorder, and Risperdal
was used for Schizophrenia (Grohol, 2018).
It was detected that high prevalence of psychoactive medications is of concern for the reason
that there is proof of limited efficacy and significant damage from psychoactive medications
usage in older people, mainly those with dementia. (Gnjidic, Simon Bell, & Hilmer, 2013). In
case of fertility, it was very important that fertile women with a mental illness be warned before
pregnancy if psychoactive medications are needed during pregnancy (Larsen, et al., 2015). The
Consequences for prescribing of psychotropic drugs could be mortality. In the modern era,
treatment of psychiatric disorders has use of psychotropic drugs as a medicine (Carrier, Banayan,
Boley, & Karnik, 2017).
In next section, I will discuss about these psychotropic drugs uses and they are helpful for
mental health or not.
Modern Drug Discovery and Development
In the present world, drugs are capable of disturbing the mental, emotional, and behavior,
few authorized drugs like lithium for bipolar disorder, are psychotropic drug, but cocaine is
illegal drug, also known as psychodynamic drug (Medicinenet, 2018). So all these psychotropic
drugs are useful in different types of disorders, but when think about their side effects then it is a
serious issue for health. As in current world, depression and disorders are common between
young generation and children’s, so it is highly sensitive matter (Bezchlibnyk-Butler & Jeffries,
1997).
In case of several mental disorders, medications can play an excellent role. In depression,
first treatment is talk therapy, but right treatment is based on situations of that person ( Brett, et
al., 2017). Depression is a common problem in this era, so many people commonly used
antidepressants to treat depression. Antidepressants are also called selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitors (Referred as SSRI). Citalopram, Fluoxetine, Escitalopram, sertraline, Vilazodone, and
Paroxetine are examples of SSRI’s. These medicines work in period of 4 to 6 weeks according to
doctor’s directions; there are so many side effects of antidepressants. Side effects of these