Controversies and Challenges in Mental Health Nursing Essay

This essay critically examines the controversial use of psychotropic medications in mental health nursing, focusing on their role in controlling behaviors and managing symptoms of mental illness. It delves into the ongoing debate regarding the benefits and risks associated with these medications, considering potential side effects and the impact of dosage changes. The essay also identifies the challenging aspects of administering these medications for registered nurses, particularly when patients pose a significant risk of harm to themselves or others. It explores the complexities of promoting recovery-oriented practices in such situations, emphasizing the need for effective risk management, therapeutic relationships, and quality nursing care. The essay draws upon a range of national and international literature to create an argument that highlights the multifaceted nature of this critical issue within the field of mental health nursing, including the impact of long-term use, the potential for addiction, and the challenges of dealing with patient aggression and refusal of medication. The essay also considers the role of nurses in community health settings and the importance of multidisciplinary teams.

Running head: MENTAL HEALTH NURSING
MENTAL HEALTH NURSING
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Introduction
Psychotropic drug is capable of affecting the emotion, mind and behaviour of an
individual. Few psychotropic legal drug is lithium, which is used to treat bipolar disorder.
Cocaing is considered to be the illicit drug. The three main classes of psychotropic drugs are
anxiolytic such as benzodiazepines that can manage insomnia and anxiety, antidepressant as well
as antipsychotics (Donley et al., 2011). Few other psychotropic class includes stimulant and
anticonvulsants. As this drug mainly affects brain as well as mind, medicines that are closely
related to anti-dementia along with opioids are classed as psychotropic medicine. However, if
people take in high doses the effect can be adverse. Sedatives medication reduces brain activity
(Kretchy et al., 2018). They make a person feel relaxed. The medication treats anxiety and sleep
sicknesses. The main aim of this paper is to discuss about the controversy in the use of sedative
or psychotropic medication in controlling the behaviour of the people. The paper is structured to
discuss about the controversy and ways to manage symptoms for people experiencing psychotic
illness and various challenges faced by the nurses administering these patients.
Discussion
There is an ongoing controversy that psychotropic drugs have harmful effects and more
use of dementia as well as antidepressant drugs can be stopped before causing any harm.
Researchers have found that the side effects of the psychotropic drug overcome its benefits if
there is minute change in the dosage (Stroup et al., 2019). It has been researched by the
Australia’s health association team that psychotropic drugs are necessary and it was also
acknowledged that the overdose antipsychotics to alleviate violate patients suffering from
dementia. It has been noticed that more than half a million people above the age of 65 suffers
fatal death due to use to the psychotropic drugs.

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Psychotropic medications have a role on brain as well as central nervous system. They
alter the chemicals present in the brain known as neurotransmitters and send messages among
brain cells by a synapse or crossing (Goldberg, 2012). Every psychotropic medication can treat
specific recognised symptoms. Psychotropic medication manages psychological and behavioural
symptoms of dementia. It is not projected to be inclusive, and confines its possibility to the more
frequently arranged medicines inside an Australian background. Medicines prescribed to treat
mental illness, might lead to exaggeration of behaviours. In general, while it is factual
that medicine treating central nervous system activity might precipitate or exacerbate the illness,
the significant drugs are used to avoided to be used with anticholinergic activity (Matson &
Mahan, 2010).
Cholinergic medications be able to recover awareness. Anticholinergics, hence, causes
augmented confusion. Anticholinergic medications have a habit of to be of binary types; which
are prescribed as they have anticholinergic features, and those that are known to have
anticholinergic side effects (Serretti et al., 2013). Drugs such as benhexol (Artane), oxybutynin
(Ditropan), and benztropine (Cogentin) have anticholinergic side effects that include digoxin,
opioid analgesics, salbutamol, frusemide, corticosteroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory
drugs (NSAIDS) as well as tricylic antidepressants.
Even though these drugs have benefits but they are minimal to overcome the colossal
negative outcomes. Few people claim that the research that has been done Australian health team
is bias, as they think that the patients involved in the study was already under some other kind of
medication (Kagee, 2011). Hence, the outcome was adverse. If the patient under the
psychotropic medication stops the drug suddenly then they experience a sudden withdrawal
phase and slowly after trying some other medication the effects turns out to be beneficial.

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Researchers have also claimed that even sudden stop of the drug have resulted in suicidal
tendency.
Antidepressant such as venlafaxine and fluoxetine have a caused impulsive reduction of the
disease over time. There is also an underlying controversy showing that the schizophrenia drugs
for ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder) are highly uncertain (Hill & Wee, 2012). The
drug can lead to brain damage. Research on other hand, have also showed that the harmful effect
of the psychotropic drug can be prevented by dropping antidepressant, dementia and ADHD
drugs. The use of drugs such as benzodiazepines and antipsychotics. This process would help to
receive long-lived and healthier population.
Results have also shown that long-term use of this drug is harmful and they must be used
under serious situations. The analysis of the working of Psychotropic drugs is tough to predict
hence, it is tough to analysis how it would react in every individual. These drugs are highly
exposed as chemical toxins that have a strong power to kill. The medical professionals have
claimed these drugs can save lives for an individual suffering with severe illness however it also
has some side effects if taken for a longer period of time (Matson & Hess, 2011). Records have
shown that the psychotropic drugs increase the chances of suicide. The long-term use has created
lifetime of mental as well as physical damage to the brain. Few side effects that are commonly
seen are hallucination, suicidal ideation, sudden death, stroke as well as psychosis (Mental
Health Australia, 2020).
Argument have been placed that elaborates that these drugs work and they have a good
beneficiary and effective result as any other medications. These drugs are also needed for the
patient with psychiatric conditions that are considered to the fifth leading cause of disability in
the world. It has also been noted that my mentally ill patient suffers from several other physical

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conditions which add up to the leading cause of death (Matson et al., 2010). It has been pointed
out that safety and effects of drugs can be monitored that can be studied with the general
population. Though concerns have been raised about psychotropic drugs in addition to few critics
the responsibility regularly appears to be on the drug needing to demonstrate incorruptibility
from causing damage rather than a composed method to assesses the evidences that are available.
The genuine concern or the prejudice of expression is not made clear.
Several studies have shown that the mainly the older population in taking psychotropic
drugs, suffers from hospitalisation and mortality due to fall injuries. The enhanced risk causes
adjustment for dementia and co‐morbidity (Cooper et al., 2011).
Psychotropic drugs are given to individual who are challenging to handle and had been a
problem. Research have shown that long-term intake of the drug causes more aggressive
symptoms and agitation. The drugs if taken for longer time becomes makes the symptoms more
severe instead reducing it (Lanktree et al., 2014). Research and development group in the
Alzheimer’s Society have contended that drugs line Aricept, precisely established for people
suffering from dementia, had some effect in addition to were needed for treating the patient.
Research have also demonstrated that the psychotropic drugs could be immobilised without
causing any harm as it was not buoyed by the indication (Montejo et al., 2018). For example, a
long time use of schizophrenia drugs seemed to diminish primary deaths, however it also need to
be proctored regularly whether the treatment among patient as well as their psychiatrist for
repeatedly measuring up the advantages and disadvantages of any treatment.
The biggest risk for registered nurse while giving medication to the patient suffering with
mental illness and having the tendency to harm others or oneself. There have been incidents that
the patient who are mentally ill are violent and sometimes they even tend to attack or show

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aggression to the nurses providing the medication (Stein et al., 2012). The patient denies taking
any medication and if forced to do so they become violent and try to harm others. The registered
nurse dealing with mentally sick patient had to open themselves towards unpredictable behaviour
and situation. Sometimes it can become life risk if proper dealing and precautionary measures
are not taken. The nurses had to put themselves in the increased level of belligerence and
viciousness (SANDS et al., 2011). Many a time the patient refuses to take any medication and if
the situation goes uncontrolled nurses had to call their colleagues for administering medicine to
the patient with a tendency of harming. Due to this nurses had to go through high level of stress
and emotional exhaustion. It has been noticed that there is lack of inadequate facilities, which
increases the stress of the person dealing with the patient (Higgins et al., 2015). Hence, in few
cases research has shown nurses themselves undergoes anxiety and depression that leads to
further intake of the antidepressant medication that has both positive as well as negative side
effects over the brain.
The valuation and organisation of risk is an essential feature of mental health nursing
and hence must always be highlighted. The main risk in handling patient might be to oneself or
to others as well as may be definite or probable (McAllister, 2011). Risk for a mentally ill patient
includes are violence, self-harm, neglect, suicide, vulnerability, hazards, aggression and
safeguarding. The patient loses the capability of understanding wrong and right. Hence, the nurse
handling the patient also has to go through several problems in dealing with such illness. The
nurses themselves had to face the aggression of the patient and sometimes they also get injured
due to patient activities.
Risk assessment is composite also cannot be enumerated by means of required
measurement tools. Several factors as well as events are measured in addition to immobile

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aspects, like gender as well as age, also ‘fluid factors’ for a mentally sick patient that fluctuates
and changes sometimes faster or slowly over a period of time (Marulanda & Addington, 2014).
Intrusions to reduce jeopardy differ and need diverse heights of care facility, liable on the
insistence, sternness and randomness of the clinical performance.
National Mental Health Policy was developed to stimulate mental health, inhibit mental
disease, facilitate reclamation from mental disorder, encourage desegregation, as well as
safeguard socio-economic insertion of persons exaggerated by mental disease by providing
available, affordable and value well-being and public care to all individuals through their life-
span in a rights-based context.
Hence there is a need to risk management plan that would help the nurse in improving
their skill encompassing contemplation of thought pattern, behaviours or feelings, classifying
signs and indications of degeneration and elicit factors for latent deterioration (Mental health
services in Australia, Summary of Mental health services in Australia - Australian Institute of
Health and Welfare, 2020). Nurses dealing with patient with severe mental sickness upkeep
patients to progress their protection as well as disaster plans. Risk and challenges of the nurses
cannot be removed completely however some strong therapeutic associations and superiority
cooperative nursing care are indispensable for reducing harm toward patient as well to the nurses
working and administering patient having tendency to self-harm or harm others (Mental Health
Nursing Conference, 2020). Similar case with the nurses working in community health where
they work in multidisciplinary teams, satisfying various title role in accumulation to resounding
out customary nursing tasks as well as intermediations (Higgins et al., 2015). Nurses may also
ask the social care, factually a role that is to be commenced by social workers. The more
dependable methodology for patients for minimising the numbers of experts involved as well as

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permitting the mental health nurse to work over a wider scope. It is also required that the nurse
treating mentally ill patient must be allowed to take duty in shifts so that amount of depression
can be proctored under control.
Conclusion
It can be concluded from the above discussion that the psychotropic drug has both
positive as well as negative impact over the patient. The drugs are used in treating patient
however overdose or long term use leads to addiction and the patient taking it starts showing side
effects. They make the patient violent, the patient sometimes starts to hallucinate or also have
suicidal tendency if they are not provided with the drug. It has also been noticed that student stop
of medication causes serious illness and hence the patient dies out of suffering. The paper also
discussed about the difficulties faced by the nurses dealing with these patients. Even the nurses
had to go through serious injuries while feeding the patient with severe mental disorder. The
nurses on treating the mental sick patient also undergoes some depression as well as anxiety.
Hence preventive and administrative measurements need to be taken so that the nurses do not
have to face this kind of difficulties while feeding the patient with mental disorder of self-injury
or having a tendency to harm others.

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