ABSTRACT
Psychotropic drugs are prescribed in response to symptoms, in the absence of a specific diagnosis or naming of a mental illness. It has, in some quarters, become controversial to speak of disease and illness for psychological and psychiatric problems. The chemicals that comprise psychotropic drugs target receptors in the brain to increase or decrease the amount of neurotransmitter at the nerve ending. The general practice or psychiatrist may not give adequate explanations about why the person is on a specific drug, or what its side effects are. Some patients are confused about why and for what purpose a certain drug has been prescribed. Endocrinal diseases, such as an underactive thyroid gland, can induce depression and an overactive gland can result in feelings of increased anxiety. The primary care counsellor will have his/her own ideas about what is most beneficial for any one patient, or patients in general, who exhibit psychologically distressing symptoms.
