Taking mental health medication is tougher than it seems. I have been taking MH medication, on & off, for more than 10 years now. This is a thread of some things that helped me make peace with and take the medication consistently.

Don’t Google the medicine you have been prescribed. Ask your doctor what the medicine is for; & if you must, ask a friend to Google it for you.

Think of them as antibiotics for viral or chemo for cancer, whichever feels fitting. Ask yourself “what would I say to my parent if she said she doesn’t need medicines for fever or cancer” Say that to yourself.

Know that you will not get the medication right in the first go. Getting the medicine & dosage right is an iterative process. A successful prescription will be eventually built with feedback on the previous ones.

The medication doesn’t fix itself. Talk to your doctor. Your doctor is human, they can’t read our body or mind to the extent we hope they can. Give them feedback -I am feeling better, but keep having nightmares-it’s makes me hungry, I wake up in the middle of the night to-

Make note of these feelings, experiences & thoughts. Don’t rely on memory while talking to your doctor; you may exaggerate or numb them based on what you are feeling that day.

Find a buddy. Ask someone if they want to do check-ins with you; send you an emoji or a word every time they take their meds or you take yours; like a virtual shoulder to hold while you walk with a sprained ankle. Or ask me to add you to the buddy Whatsapp group I started.

Do not stop taking your medicines when you start feeling better. You still need them, to maintain levels of necessary chemicals in your brain. Apply the antibiotic analogy here. You are feeling good BECAUSE of the meds. If medicine goes, happy goes.

Have faith. It works. It’s not magic, but it works. Think of it as trying to build a playing card fort. You’ll need faith that it can be done, determination to keep at it, patience with yourself & the cards & help from people who can understand that you must do this.

Remember, if you keep at it, through dehydrations & sleep-eatings, you have a chance of stumbling on beautiful days when you can lie in the sun & make some happy.