Medication is a difficult issue with all forms of mental illness. Getting a medication program in place can be frightening and frustrating. How effective are they? What is the right dosage? What are the side effects? How do people stay on the meds? What is the long term impact?
The family of anyone with a mental illness is right in the middle of these questions. When a loved one struggles with medication issues, so does the family. Sometimes even more so because the person with the illness sometimes disregards the program while the family members rely on the drugs to keep their loved one, and themselves, balanced.
One of the roles of the family members is to monitor the effect of the medication. This monitoring role differs when the illness affects children, adolescents, or adults. In any case, the family can observe behavioral changes as a result of changes in the medication, or non-compliance, often sooner than the persons themselves. That’s when the monitoring kicks in full time. That’s when it is time to Observe, Report, and Persuade.
Observe: just watch your loved one’s behavior. Notice if there are any significant changes in thinking or acting. This step implies that you know their thinking and behavior when they are stable. Just notice. Perhaps record your observations. Maybe you can share these observations with other family members to verify that you might be on target.
Report: tell your loved one what you have noticed. Do it gently, lovingly. Do not accuse or blame. Just report.
Persuade: your goal is to walk side by side with your loved one and to quietly persuade him/her to see the doctor and report the changes in thinking and acting with the possible need to change the medication.
It is a good idea to outline this approach with your loved one when he/she is stable. Say what you are going to do when the medication impact changes. Then follow the Observe, Report, Persuade approach. Do it gently but firmly.
Thank you Tom for this blog regarding medication! I have found it very helpful since our loved one is currently undergoing medication changes. I like the steps you have listed. They remind me how important the family is in the recovery process. I look forward to more blog posts!
Stacy,
Sorry it has taken so long to reply but I had to figure out how this works. I now get it, I think. Anyway, thanks for the comments. The family is extremely important in the recovery process for the sake of your loved one – and your own!
Thank you Tom for this blog post about medication monitoring! I like the steps you listed. They are very helpful and easy to remember. They remind me how important the family is in the recovery process. I look forward to more blog posts!