Transcript
Often, I hear concerns about, "Will medication change me?
Will it make me a different person?"
Sometimes, people tell me they fear being turned into a zombie.
Really, the reality of using medication for PTSD
is to alleviate some of the symptoms, to take the edge off
of some of the anxiety, some of the irritability.
When I feel medication is doing its job, what I hear from
Veterans is, some Veterans, for example, who have spouses
or partners, you may hear your spouse or partner say,
"It's nicer to be around you."
I have heard many people say,
"I don't sweat the small stuff as much,"
"I feel like I have more time to think before I react."
So medication really is about helping to feel more normal,
not abnormal, not like a zombie.
And I really encourage Veterans to talk very closely with me
about any problems that they're experiencing.
Those are side effects, and side effects can happen with any
medication, but side effects are not permanent.
And it's an indication that maybe it's not the right
medication for you, maybe we need to adjust the dose,
maybe we need to try a different medication.
For a medication to be worthwhile, it really should improve
your quality of life, and you really should be able to say,
"Yes, I do feel better taking this every day,
and it is worth my while to take this every day."