Drugs & The Brain Reflective Assignment

The administration of pharmacological treatments for mental health disorders often entails a precarious balance between therapeutic benefits and adverse consequences. First-generation antipsychotics, such as chlorpromazine and haloperidol, exemplify this duality. Whilst effective in mitigating hallucinations and delusions in schizophrenia, these drugs frequently induce tardive dyskinesia (TD)—a debilitating neurological side effect characterised by involuntary facial and body movements. For many patients, TD becomes a lifelong burden, overshadowing the relief from psychosis. Similarly, benzodiazepines (e.g., diazepam) offer rapid alleviation of anxiety but risk fostering dependency, with withdrawal symptoms—rebound anxiety, seizures—often exceeding the original condition’s severity. Even modern interventions like SSRIs (e.g., fluoxetine), though transformative for depression, carry paradoxical risks: emotional numbing and heightened suicidal ideation in adolescents. These examples underscore a recurring theme: pharmacological interventions, whilst lifesaving, can impose physical and psychological tolls that challenge the axiom of “first, do no harm.”