Ophelia In fact, "mood regulator" is not a standardized name in clinical medicine at all, but a popular general term for all drugs that can improve pathological mood abnormalities. It covers several major categories such as antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs, and mood stabilizers commonly used in clinical practice. It never refers to a specific drug.
I met a 22-year-old junior boy some time ago. He couldn't get excited for more than two months. He missed all the badminton games he had to make every week. During the final review, he stared at the textbook for half an hour and couldn't turn a page. After he went to a psychiatrist to be diagnosed with moderate depression, the doctor prescribed him sertraline. When he mentioned it to his friends, he only said that he was taking "mood regulators" because he was afraid that mentioning antidepressants would lead to unnecessary speculation.
It is precisely because this term is too vague and colloquial that people now have two extreme misunderstandings about this type of medicine: On the one hand, many older people think, "Isn't it just that I'm in a bad mood? As for taking medicine?" I just can’t figure it out.” They even equated taking such drugs with “getting mentally ill,” and tried their best to prevent children at home who had obvious symptoms from seeking medical treatment. ； On the other side, there are many young people who are overwhelmed by pressure. They occasionally emo for two or three days and look for channels to "prescribe some mood regulators", treating them as "happy candies" with no side effects.
Both of these ideas are actually quite outrageous. You can completely understand this type of medicine as a "crutch" for your mood: if you just twist a little when walking, the pain will take a while to recover, of course there is no need to use crutches.； But if the ligaments are strained and the pain is so severe that you can't even stand firmly and you still carry it and refuse to use external force, it will only turn the minor injury into an old disease that is difficult to heal. I once met a 30-year-old Internet operator who suffered from insomnia for almost a month. He couldn't stop crying while staring at the screen at work. He insisted on saying, "I'm just under a lot of stress recently, so I'll just get over it." Finally, he had thoughts of self-harm and was sent to the hospital by his family. The doctor said that if he had intervened two weeks earlier, he wouldn't have had to take such a large dose.
To be clear, the formal "mood regulators" we are talking about are all prescription drugs. They must be professionally evaluated by a doctor and judged that your abnormal mood has reached a pathological state before they can be prescribed. You must not buy them just by searching for a guide. And it’s not like what many people imagine: “you will immediately feel happy after taking it”. Most people may feel slightly nauseous and sleepy in the first week or two after taking it. When the effect of the drug stabilizes, it will only help you bring your lowest mood back to the normal level. It will not make you overly excited, nor will it turn you into a “robot” without joy, anger, sorrow, or joy.
By the way, don't regard the soothing health care products that the merchants boast as "mood regulators". They are at most a psychological placebo. If your mood is really bad enough to affect your eating, sleeping, work and school, don't force yourself to buy them. Go to the psychiatry or psychology department of a regular hospital first to see if you need to take medicine and what to eat. Just listen to the doctor. There is really nothing to be ashamed of.
