[Experiences and subjective transformations: suffering and coercion in the use of psychotropic drugs in psychiatric treatment in Chile].

Abstract

This article analyzes the impact of psychotropic drug use on individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, and severe depression in Chile. Using a qualitative narrative approach, the experiences of 25 patients from 2018 to 2021 are examined. Participants describe how these medications, while effective in symptom control, generate psychological suffering and a sense of coercion in daily life. The results reveal that prolonged use of psychotropic drugs leads to significant side effects, including physical, cognitive, and social deterioration, as well as a persistent sense of dependence on these medications. Furthermore, the article critiques the medicalization of mental disorders within modern psychiatry, where the biomedical approach predominates, reducing human distress to a neurochemical problem and disregarding social factors. The study concludes that while psychotropic drugs can stabilize patients, they also perpetuate forms of control and suffering.