Fear of medication

Oh God, yes! 

Hi there,

I can imagine a lot of people would be scared of medication if they had some bad experiences like you've had. 

I appreciate it's not quite the same, but I personally have a blood phobia and had a phobia of using blood pressure monitors. Anything to do with my circulatory system would freak me out and give me anxiety. In fact, I found most medical establishments / settings would give me anxiety. 

I haven't had any bad experiences with medication but I was very hesitant if not nervous when prescribed with ADHD meds. My counsellor said that was very normal and that lots of people get anxious about starting a new medication on a long term basis. 

The good news is that these phobias can be worked on. In order to start the ADHD meds, I had to fight my phobia and use a blood pressure machine six times daily. I soon became accustomed to it and now it's normal. I approached it in the same way someone might apply graduated exposure therapy, which is a form of CBT. You should always speak to a professional first, but the general way it works is to gradually increase your exposure to your phobia until your parasympathetic response is minimised. For example, I started by simply getting used to just wearing the blood pressure cuff and then progressing to letting the cuff expand a little etc. etc. It's a bit trickier when you can't be exposed to your phobia in a controlled manner, like with medication, but a therapist could help you use your imagination to simulate exposure. 

Best of luck,

J

Autistic people can be sensitive to medication, or may experience it differently to how it is meant to work.

I've had difficulty with different medications, either anti-depressants or low-dose anti-psychotics that autistic people tend to be given to help with thoughts/moods.  Usually made me too drowsy and/or more withdrawn, it took a long time to find something that worked without too much negative effects.