During the meeting we are expected to answer a few perfunctory questions and to leave with prescriptions for powerful drugs that can dramatically alter the quality of our lives. In these meetings the psychiatrist assumes a position of power and we usually fulfill the expected role of being a quiet, unquestioning, passive patient. Over the years I have developed a number of strategies for changing the power imbalance during medication meetings with psychiatrists. Learn to think differently about medication 1. There are no magic bullets.
Recovery is hard work.
No pill can do the work of recovery for me. If I sit back and wait for a pill to make me better, I will not get better. I may become a chronic, helpless patient who swallows pills on command, but I will not recover. Recovery means taking an active stance towards the problems and challenges I face. Medications are only a tool.