Lately, I've been seeing some things online that tell people with mental health conditions that if they just eat the right foods and make the right lifestyle changes, they won't have to take their psychotropic medications anymore. I've seen things that suggest anxiety can be cured using only meditation. I've seen things on social media that tell people on antidepressants that the only antidepressant they really need is to spend some time outdoors and get some exercise. I find this attitude more than a little troubling.
I know there is a stigma associated with mental health in general, and that their is a particular piece of that stigma that tells people they should feel embarrassed or ashamed if they have to take medications to help balance out their brain chemicals. I know, especially recently, with the rise of the "back to the earth" movement among younger generations, natural remedies for ailments are pushed pretty heavily. That's fine. Natural remedies can work for SOME things. What isn't fine is that society treats medication, especially for "invisible" conditions like mental health conditions, and natural remedies as sort of an either/or situation. As in you're either doing things the "wrong" way and taking the medications, or you're doing things the "right" way and stopping the medication for the old-fashioned natural approach.
Natural remedies, as I said before, can work for SOME things for SOME people. The lifestyle changes and natural remedies can be good for helping manage the day-to-day symptoms of some conditions like anxiety and depression, but they don't treat the underlying issue of the imbalanced brain chemicals. Only medication and therapy can work to treat the underlying issues of imbalanced chemicals and faulty thought patterns that come with the out-of-balance brain chemicals. It isn't an either/or situation. At best it's an AND situation between medication and lifestyle and/or diet changes that a person can afford or is able to make.
I get it. Many people don't like taking medication every day, especially not if it's something they may have to take for the rest of their life. Psychotropic medications, like all medications, can come with nasty side effects. The trial and error process of finding the most helpful medication in the correct dosage can be tedious and discouraging, especially when someone is in emotional distress or is otherwise significantly impaired by the mental health condition. I also get that medications are expensive. So of course, a great many people will be grasping at whatever could work to get off the medication in favor of something "easier" and less expensive. Of course, if some change or natural remedy worked for you, you might be tempted to push your friends to go off meds and try the thing that worked for you instead.
But...let me explain why that's not a great idea. Many people need their medications to be functional and to stay alive. No amount of exercise, diet changes, lifestyle changes, or supplements in the world can replace the medication. That is okay. Also, those people, no matter how much they love you and want to make you happy, are not obligated to risk their jobs, mental stability, and lives to try the remedy that worked for you. I know it can be tempting to look for an "easier" (as in easier to access or tolerate or talk about) way to help your brain, but nobody should ever go off their medication unless their psychiatrist tells them it's time to stop the medication.
I'll end with this: I know I talk a lot about the lifestyle and diet changes I made to help improve my life with OCD and panic disorder and that I also talk a lot about taking L-theanine and CBD products instead of taking medication. That doesn't make me anti-medication. It should never be medication OR natural remedies, lifestyle changes, and diet changes. It should be medication AND natural remedies, lifestyle changes, and/or diet changes depending on the changes someone is able to make. Lastly, and I can't emphasize this enough, if you are taking medication, PLEASE DO NOT stop your medication in favor of a "more natural approach to treatment" because someone who is not on your mental health team wants you to/because it worked for them/because it's "better"/because it works faster, or any other reason.
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