The Use Of Prozac As A Psychotropic Medication In Mental Health Recovery

A psychotropic medication is a psychoactive drug which is taken because of its effect on the chemical composition of nervous system and brain (Cosci, & Chouinard, 2020). That is why, psychotropic medications are used for treating mental illnesses (Cosci, & Chouinard, 2020). The aim of this paper is to discuss the use of a psychotropic medication on the mental health recovery journey of a person. The paper will analyse the socio – political factors which affect the people’s mental health conditions as well as their addictions. The paper will first identify a psychotropic medication then it will analyse the usage of that medication in helping out the mental health recovery journey of a person. The pros as well as cons of the medication will be identified. A critical examination of other interventions will be demonstrated which can be useful alongside the medication for helping the mental health illnesses. Along with that, ethical dilemma will also be demonstrated regarding the use of psychotropic medication for treating a mental health illness.

Five main kinds of psychotropic medications are there which are antidepressants, antipsychotics, anti – anxiety medications, and mood stabiliser (Marko, 2020). The chosen psychotropic medication is Prozac which is a kind of antidepressant (Sadowsky, 2021). Prozac is used for treating mainly depression, panic attacks, OCD, and bulimia (Marko, 2020).

As stated above, Prozac is used for treating depression, bulimia, OCD and panic attacks (Wang, 2022). This psychotropic medication is used so that it can improve the mood, appetite, sleep and energy level (Chhaochharia, Korniotis, & Kumar, 2020). This medication also helps in restoring the interest of individual in daily living (Armidon, 2022). Fear is decreased along with anxiety, number of panic attacks, as well as unwanted thoughts are also reduced with the help of this medication (Zhang, 2021). Prozac also helps in reducing the clinical manifestation of OCD and bulimia which interfere with the daily living activities. The pros and cons of this medication will be mentioned in the next section (Chhaochharia, Korniotis, & Kumar, 2020).

In this section, the main topic is the advantages of Prozac. Prozac (fluoxetine) is considered as a SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) antidepressant (Chhaochharia, Korniotis, & Kumar, 2020). This psychotropic medicine impacts neurotransmitters which communicate among the brain cells and thus help people in getting rid of depression, anxiety, panic disorder and OCD (Chhaochharia, Korniotis, & Kumar, 2020) which are considered as the most effective benefits of using Prozac. Types Of Psychotropic Medications Discussion Paper

In this section, the main topic is the advantages of Prozac. Several side effects of Prozac are there, some of them are as follows: having allergic reaction, severe skin reaction, fever, skin rash etc. Apart from these, there are also side effects of having Prozac which are changes in behaviour, changes in mood, anxiety, trouble in sleeping, panic attacks, feeling impulsive, feeling irritated, hostile, agitated, aggressive, hyperactive both physically as well as mentally, more depression, deterioration in the thought process as having suicidal thoughts continuously (Chhaochharia, Korniotis, & Kumar, 2020).

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Different kinds of psychotherapy can be considered as other interventions which will be useful alongside psychotropic medication in the recovery journey of an individual from mental health problem (Wojnarowski et al., 2019). Psychotherapeutic intervention such as CBT can help people with mental illness such as depression (Cunningham, & Shapiro, 2018). CBT can help a patient in identifying the negative thoughts along with the associated behaviours (Wojnarowski et al., 2019). People who are suffering from depression often have negative thought patters (Cunningham, & Shapiro, 2018). Therefore, CBT can be helpful in the treatment of depression along with antidepressants like Prozac as antidepressants work well when it is used in a combination with psychotherapy like CBT (Wojnarowski et al., 2019).

Prozac As An Antidepressant

Nurses have a huge role in the individual recovery from mental health illness as well as for their family members and near relatives as well (Pabillo, & Laguinday, 2018). Nurses are required to assess the depressive condition, monitor the clinical progress of the patients, enhance the treatment compliance, promote the social change as well as education of the patients, their family members and their family members as well (Gao et al., 2021). Nurses are required to educate the patients regarding the usage of the medication when a patient is suffering from chronic mental illness such as depression (Heath et al., 2022). They are also accountable to educate the patients’ family members regarding the administration process of the medication as well (Pabillo, & Laguinday, 2018).

In this section, the examples of ethical dilemma will be demonstrated regarding the administration of psychotropic medication (Haahr, et al., 2020). This can include the person with mental illness does not want to take the medication, the person with mental illness have exacerbation of metabolic disorder like weight gain and diabetes, person with mental illness gets to know about the side effects profile of the prescribed medication and that is why the person does not want to take the psychotropic medication and cultural considerations (Rainer, Schneider, & Lorenz, 2018).

Sometimes, the person with mental illness does not want to take the prescribed medication (Rainer, Schneider, & Lorenz, 2018). This happens when the person suffering from mental illness becomes transparent about his / her recovery or the person does not wish to get better because of the generation of distorted thoughts and mentality due to the medication (Rainer, Schneider, & Lorenz, 2018). In these cases, the patients have to made taken the medication as a part of the recovery plan from the illnesses (Rainer, Schneider, & Lorenz, 2018). It is duty of the therapists, health care professionals and the nurses that the patient who does not wish to take the medication must be observed and supervised so that the patient takes the medication (Rainer, Schneider, & Lorenz, 2018). This kind of ethical dilemma makes the job of the health care professional tougher (Rainer, Schneider, & Lorenz, 2018).

Antidepressants are used to increase the wight of people taking it. because antidepressants alter the level of serotonin which regulates the appetite of people (Rainer, Schneider, & Lorenz, 2018). Changes in serotonin level may increase the cravings for carbohydrate – rich foods such as desserts, bread, pasta etc which are responsible for weight gain of people (Rainer, Schneider, & Lorenz, 2018). Therefore, when a patient with mental disorder to gaining weight or has metabolic disorder such as diabetes then it creates an ethical dilemma for the physician that whether they prescribe the antidepressants furthermore or not (Rainer, Schneider, & Lorenz, 2018). Because, depression and diabetes both are serious chronic condition which demand to be checked with the help of physician (Rainer, Schneider, & Lorenz, 2018).

When a person gets to know about the side effects of the antidepressant, he / she is taking, the person generally will not want to take the medicine any more (Rainer, Schneider, & Lorenz, 2018). The side effects of antidepressant such as Prozac are genuine and are well known to the physician and the nurses as well (Rainer, Schneider, & Lorenz, 2018). Yet, they have to convince the patient to take the medicine so that the patient can recover from the illness (Rainer, Schneider, & Lorenz, 2018). This also generates ethical dilemma for the nurses and the physicians (Rainer, Schneider, & Lorenz, 2018). It is the duty of the physician who prescribes the medication and the nurses whose duty is to administer and supervise the medication so that the patient must continue to take the medication as prescribed by the health care professional (Rainer, Schneider, & Lorenz, 2018).

Advantages And Side Effects Of Prozac

Cultural consideration regarding antidepressant also generates ethical dilemmas among the patients of mental illness (Santiago, et al., 2020). In many rural cultures such as culture of aboriginal people of Australia, it is not appropriate to take medication for any mental illness as they are closer to their roots, land and cultural beliefs (Santiago, et al., 2020). Although, they are interested in well – being of their overall health, taking antidepressant is not preferred as a first choice (Santiago, et al., 2020). In these cases, people feel ethical dilemma when they are prescribed antidepressant (Santiago, et al., 2020). They feel muddled whether to take them or not (Santiago, et al., 2020).

Conclusion

From the above discussion, it can be concluded that psychotropic medications are medicines which are generally prescribed for mental illness. In this paper, the psychotropic medication that has been chosen is Prozac which is an antidepressant and prescribed for depression, anxiety disorder, bulimia, OCD. The benefits and risks of this medication have been identified in this paper along with cultural dilemmas regarding the context. Also, the critical examination of other therapies has been presented which can be beneficial alongside with Prozac which is CBT.

References

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Chhaochharia, V., Korniotis, G. M., & Kumar, A. (2020). Prozac for depressed states? Effect of mood on local economic recessions. Review of financial economics, 38(2), 245-274. https://doi.org/10.1002/rfe.1099

Cosci, F., & Chouinard, G. (2020). Acute and persistent withdrawal syndromes following discontinuation of psychotropic medications. Psychotherapy and psychosomatics, 89(5), 283-306. https://doi.org/10.1159/000506868

Cunningham, J. E., & Shapiro, C. M. (2018). Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) to treat depression: A systematic review. Journal of psychosomatic research, 106, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2017.12.012

Gao, X., Tang, Y., Lei, N., Luo, Y., Chen, P., Liang, C., … & Zhang, Y. (2021). Symptoms of anxiety/depression is associated with more aggressive inflammatory bowel disease. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-81213-8

Haahr, A., Norlyk, A., Martinsen, B., & Dreyer, P. (2020). Nurses experiences of ethical dilemmas: A review. Nursing ethics, 27(1), 258-272. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0969733019832941

Heath, L., Jebb, S., Stevens, R., Wheeler, G., Ahern, A., Boyland, E., … & Aveyard, P. (2022). Effects of a group-based weight management programme on anxiety and depression: A randomised controlled trial (RCT). PloS one, 17(2), e0263228. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263228

Marko, V. (2020). Prozac. In From Aspirin to Viagra (pp. 167-181). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44286-6_8

Pabillo, C., & Laguinday, M. (2018). Nursing Interventions in Depression Management. https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/156943/Pabillo_Carl.pdf?sequence=1

Rainer, J., Schneider, J. K., & Lorenz, R. A. (2018). Ethical dilemmas in nursing: An integrative review. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 27(19-20), 3446-3461. Types Of Psychotropic Medications Discussion Paper