When thinking of drugs, we usually think we are to fight against them. We have spent ages fighting a true war on drugs that destroys lives and even whole countries, but there is another relationship that needs to be mended. Plenty of drugs have changed our society in awful ways, but there are also drugs which save lives. The first that come to mind are obviously penicillin, antibiotics, morphine, etc. Simple hospital drugs can save people from physical hurt and pain, but there came a moment when mental illness became something we couldn’t fix with medicine.

Mental illness comes in so many different shapes and sizes just like the people it effects. There are people who are able to fight their mental instabilities each day one step at a time and then there are others who are crippled by their mental illness. The hard part of mental illness, unlike physical pain, is you can’t see their pain. There are no tracks, bruises, blood, or inconsistencies visible to the naked eye to be able to tell you what medicine to give.

I am a huge advocate for counseling no matter your severity of mental illness. There are multiple steps of help in battling mental illness and obviously not every single journey is the same, but there is the recognition of your hurt and pain. Avoiding it will not help you progress through this said journey. After taking whatever step it is to making sure you recognize your hurt, there is the undeniable need an instinct to be able to seek help and hopefully find solace and confidence in someone—whether a counselor or a dear trustworthy friend. This has always been a testament of help, at least for some. Like I said before, everyone’s mental state is different and sometimes talking about it is not enough. The crazy thing about mental illness is there can be multiple causes and reasons for the invisible hurt and the pain. It can range from trauma as a child, to unfortunately the truest form due to certain hurts and simple chemical imbalances in the brain. There is literally nothing that can change a chemical inbalance except the battling form of more chemicals.

I’m sure there are great simple solutions for some people who are able to battle their mental instability with great outdoors and fresh air—even more so with time alone or rejuvenating time in any way they see fit. This isn’t always the case and we shouldn’t be so against the idea that certain drugs can help people feel better and not have to be crippled by the unseen pain. It is simply not always possible for people to find solace in other people as hard as they try. Sometimes, the drugs really are the best help. So, there is the understood war on criminal drugs, but I think there should be a new relationship with the understanding that there are helpful drugs for people. There shouldn’t be this discrepancy and fight towards the much needed drugs which can change peoples’ lives. There should be a definite change from war and fight against drugs to a new harmonious cooperation with the medicine which can help fellow humans fight their hurt. Fighting mental illness, also is not simply just drugs or talking with someone but the combination of all of those things. It is a process of balance of medication and other works to help the pain.