Nov 12, 2024
When treating mental health issues, you have three options: therapy, lifestyle changes, and medication. Other methods such as holistic or naturalistic approaches are also effective, but usually fall under one of these three categories.
Therapy and lifestyle changes are effective ways to address mental health issues, chronic stress, and difficult life transitions. These approaches, however, are sometimes not enough. In these cases, medication management can help.
As helpful as medication for mental health can be, the complex jargon and hoops to jump through make getting prescribed mental health medication difficult.
This is where a psychiatrist comes in. A psychiatrist is a mental health provider who can prescribe and manage medication, so you can rest assured you’re receiving the best medication for your mental health. In Virginia, psychiatry is a great option for those who are struggling with severe mental illness or comorbid disorders, or who haven’t had success with other approaches to their mental health. This article will cover what psychiatry is and how to find a psychiatrist in Virginia.
What is psychiatry?
Mental illnesses have many different causes, including genetics and brain chemical imbalances. Mental health medications like antidepressants and anti-anxiety meds get to the root cause of mental illness by correcting for these imbalances.
A Psychiatrist is a medical doctor who specializes in mental health disorders. Unlike therapists, psychiatrists don’t usually provide talk therapy. Instead, a session with your therapist will involve going over symptoms and discussing how the prescribed medication is making you feel. Medication for mental health is not a cure-all pill, and it can take a while to find the right dosage and type of medication for your needs.
Lifebulb recently hired an in-house psychiatrist in Virginia. This means that Virginia residents can now receive online psychiatry using Lifebulb’s affordable services. Contact our team to learn more.
Who could benefit from mental health medication?
Not everyone needs medication for their mental health issues. For example, if you recently moved cities and are struggling with the adjustment, talk therapy may be a quicker way to deal with the anxiety and loneliness that comes from a stressful transition. However, if you have anxiety that affects your ability to work, form relationships, and take care of yourself, anxiety medication can help your body regulate its panic and give you room to heal.
Whether or not you pursue mental health medication is up to you. Common reasons people seek a psychiatrist in Virginia include:
- They have a severe mental illness: Some mental health issues like Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, or Borderline Personality Disorder are best treated using a combination of coping skills, lifestyle changes, therapy, and medication.
- They have complex comorbid disorders: “Comorbid” refers to two disorders occurring at the same time. For example, ADHD and anxiety or depression and Substance Abuse commonly occur together, because they affect one another. ADHD can increase anxiety and anxiety can exacerbate ADHD symptoms. This can make it complicated to treat these issues with just therapy, since the disorders sometimes have opposing treatment needs. Medication and a Virginia Psychiatrist can help.
- Therapy doesn’t work for them: The other common reason people reach out to a Psychiatrist is because traditional talk therapy hasn’t been working for them. Maybe you just haven’t found the right therapist, or maybe your mental health issue is primarily rooted in biological causes, and medication is the best route to help you feel better.
There is no shame in taking medication for your mental health. If you were iron deficient and felt tired, brain fogged, and sick most of the time, you would take an iron supplement. If you had a sickness, you would take medication to help you get over it.
The same principles are at work with medications for mental health. Don’t wait to find freedom from the pain that hounds you. Reach out to a Psychiatrist in Virginia today.
How effective are medications for mental illness?
Medications can be highly effective for treating mental illnesses, but individual success will vary for everyone, depending upon mental health concerns, type of medication, dosage, and other life factors.
Any medication that a psychiatrist prescribes to you will be heavily researched and proven to improve the symptoms you’re facing, but that doesn’t mean it’ll cure you. Medication for mental health is not a cure-all; mental health issues are a complex problem that requires a complex solution. Medication can be a crucial part of that solution, but so should healthy coping mechanisms, lifestyle changes, support from friends and family, and therapy.
Medication for mental health can mean a lot of different things, from antidepressants and antianxiety medication to stimulants and antipsychotic medication. Some people take more than one type of medication, which can get tricky because medications interact with each other in the body. This is why it is very important to only take mental health medication under the supervision of a psychiatrist or other medical doctor. It can be dangerous otherwise.
Medication for mental health can be useful to people struggling with:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Trauma
- OCD
- ADHD
- Bipolar Disorder
- Schizophrenia
- Personality Disorders
- Substance Use
And more! This is not a complete list. Reach out to a Virginia Psychiatrist to see if medication can help you today.
How to find a psychiatrist in Virginia
Finding a psychiatrist in Virginia doesn’t have to be daunting. Your primary care provider can refer you to one, or you can use online directories. Search for words like “psychiatrist near me”, “mental health medication” or “medication management”.
Lifebulb now offers psychiatry in Virginia. Our Virginia psychiatrist can diagnose mental health disorders, prescribe medication, and manage medication through virtual or in-person sessions. We accept most insurances (and insurance will cover psychiatry appointments and mental health medication) and have little to no wait times. Contact our team to be scheduled with our psychiatrist now!
If you’re looking for psychotherapy, online therapy, or any other forms of therapy in Virginia, you can browse our therapists near you using our therapist directory.
Not in Virginia? While we don’t offer psychiatry in other states yet, we plan to expand soon. Contact our team to learn more about when psychiatry and medication management will be available in your state, or to schedule with one of our therapists across the country.
