I am an avid reader of online articles, of opinion pieces written by other college students and young adults.

I am addicted to learning through reading.

But lately I have been coming across articles that have not taught me anything useful and are likely instilling opinions in others that will not help, but hurt people.

I have seen posts shared on my Facebook titled “America: The Over-Medicated” or “Medication Doesn’t Help, It Hurts”.

I read these articles to try and see where the author’s opinion is coming from.

I want to know why they believe things that are made to make life bearable are a bad thing; why they think these pills that help people survive the days, weeks, and months of various illnesses are harming not just those taking them, but America as a whole.

They make claims such as “if someone is struggling with depression or anxiety they should undergo therapy or counseling to try and solve the problem and not rely on medication to solve the problem.”

They open with “You are depressed? Here is some Cymbalta. Oh, you’re having trouble focusing? No worries, take some Adderall.”

Many of them make suggestions they are confident will fix the ‘simple’ problems of depression, anxiety, ADHD, and the removal of an endless list of medications for those living with stated diagnoses.

They question why there isn’t extensive testing before patients are prescribed pills.

They say that those taking the pills are addicted to the way they help them.

But what they don’t say is that they personally struggle from an ailment that requires them to take medicine.

They don’t struggle from crippling depression.

They don’t have anxiety so intense that they can’t leave the house without having a panic attack.

They don’t have ADD or ADHD that makes sitting in school and focusing for hours on end nearly impossible.

This may be because they are not open about their struggles, that the stigma that exists behind many of these illnesses and their treatments.

It is likely they know someone struggling from one of these things, but that they don’t realize how much medication helps the process of healing.

None of these authors have ever experienced the need to take Prozac or Adderall.

They don’t understand why these prescriptions are necessary.

I, on the other hand, have first-hand experience as to why these medications are necessary for some people.

The key term being ‘some people’ in this statement. For the past few months, I have written quite openly about my struggle with various mental and physical illnesses.

I am doing this to try and tackle the issue of stigmas one story at a time.

Although I am open about my struggle, something I am typically not as open about is the fact that I take medication every day to help curb my depression and anxiety.

I have even had my prescription upped after the first try didn’t do anything.

But after everything is said and done I can firmly say that I believe that medicine does more help in this case than harm.

On the days when I forget to take my medicine I can feel a physical and mental difference in the way I tackle problems.

I give up much more easily and I allow myself to be walked all over by my issues.

I allow myself a pity-party that I don’t deserve.

Let me be clear, I never consciously do not take my medicine–it is always a mistake.

I am rushed and late for class or heading out to get breakfast with my friends and my brain is not focused on that specific task.

On the days when I forget to take my medicine I am lethargic and do not want to get out of bed.

I see no purpose in getting out of bed and often think to myself ‘what’s the point of doing anything?’.

I go to class, I am physically there, but I am not mentally there.

Prior to my diagnosis I never thought I would feel ‘normal’ again.

I assumed I would just have to learn to cope with whatever I may be feeling at a given moment.

But once I started a combination of counseling and medication, I slowly felt my “normal” self begin to seep back into my daily routines.

I had motivation to get out bed, I was excited to see friends, and I had aspirations for my future to fight for.

I felt the will to fight my depression and anxiety. And that could not be done without the assistance of medication.