A Medication Story
Produced by: Angelina Miller
Meet Carolanne, a young woman who lives with bipolar type II. Carolanne had to go through many different rounds of medication before stumbling upon the "cocktail" that works for her today. Here is her story. Click here to hear the rest of Carolanne's story.
The Power of Your Brain
Neuroscience is a branch (such as neurophysiology) of the life sciences that deals with the anatomy, physiology, biochemistry or molecular biology of nerves and nervous tissue and especially with their relation to behavior and learning. In simpler terms, it is how the brain works.
When it comes to mental health, neuroscience can play a huge role in discovering mental health conditions and determining the proper medication to treat them. Although it is not a cure all, neuroscience can detect specific brain activity that is linked to mental health condition. For example, after a traumatic event the chemicals in a person’s brain can change and cause signs of depression or post traumatic stress disorder.
Medications can also help “rewire” brain functions to help stabilize symptoms of a mental health condition. There are many different types of medications but the most common ones for mental health conditions are antipsychotics, antidepressants, tranquilizers and sleeping pills, mood stabilizers and stimulants and related medicines.
A brain scan, evaluation or medical test alike can aid in the diagnosis of mental health conditions and narrowing down medications to lessen the symptoms. Every person living with a mental health condition is different, but with both tradition medical practices and mental health professional practices, progress can be made to recovery.
Written by: Hope Daluisio
Created by: Hope Daluisio
Brain scans can detect abnormalities in brain functions that could indicate symptoms of a mental health condition. Medications can also be used to stabilize and manage these brain activities.
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