‘Do I need a pill?’: mental illness, psychotropic drugs and false myths in Tiziana Corteccioni’s book

Mental illness is often accompanied by stigma and labels. And the topic becomes even more delicate when it comes to psychotropic drugs, which in the imagination of many still represent a weakness, a manifest inability to control one’s emotions or even a ‘point of no return’. And so, to explain how and why getting out of the darkness is possible, here we come ‘Do I need a pill?’new book published by Vallardi and signed by psychiatrist and psychotherapist Tiziana Corteccioni. Through the 160 pages of the volume, the author thus helps to clarify mental illnesses and the use of psychotropic drugs, when it is necessary to take them and when not, dismantles the false myths (and taboos) on the subject, also showing the associated risks to do-it-yourself in the diagnosis and treatment of a disorder.

The book

Asking yourself if you need help, a therapist or a pill is not an act of weakness, but the first gesture of love towards yourself, the first step to get out of the darkness and get back to life. From depression to insomnia, to obsessive-compulsive disorder, from anxiety to panic attacks to eating disorders: in the course of life it could happen to anyone (or almost anyone) to suffer from these problems. The World Health Organization has estimated that almost a billion people in the world live with a mental disorder and the situation has worsened with Covid: previously one in six people in Europe were affected by it, now one in two suffers from it. Yet, there are many who struggle to turn to a specialist for fear of being considered crazy or finding themselves vulnerable, unable to deal with the discomfort on their own. Tiziana Corteccioni maintains that even a psychological problem that can be easily managed, if not addressed in time and adequately, can compromise our existence: she therefore helps us to orient ourselves in the universe of mental health by explaining well the roles of the figures who operate there – psychologists, psychiatrists, neurologists, coaches, counselors – and explains how psychotropic drugs work, how and why they are prescribed, and when they can be combined with other therapies. The author demonstrates the unfoundedness of many beliefs connected to them – they are bad for the kidneys, they are addictive, only crazy people take them or even they are of no use -, highlighting the danger of self-diagnoses and underlining the importance of the therapeutic alliance, that bond between doctor and patient which is the basis of the success of a therapy. For those who would like, but can’t find the courage to ask for help from a mental health professional, this book is the opportunity: because if used in the right way, psychotropic drugs can be the path to a newfound serenity.

Tiziana Corteccioni, who is the author

Tiziana Corteccioni is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist. She graduated with honors in Medicine from the University of Rome Tor Vergata, she attended the specialization school in Psychiatry and subsequently the specialization course in cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy. In 2014 she opened a blog in which he discusses topics related to his profession which soon becomes a space where you can offer a word of comfort to those who are going through a difficult time: to date the blog is visited by 45,000 people every month. Over the years he has contributed to carrying out investigations on mental health, collaborating with various paper and online newspapers including Corriere della Sera, La Stampa, Libero, Nuovo, Fanpage.it, Tpi.it. ‘Do I need a pill?’ It’s her first book.