The use of psychotropic medications and non-pharmacological approaches in everyday life: a qualitative study of the lived experience 1

Increased consumption of psychotropic drugs has been noted in Brazil and other Western countries in the last few decades for different reasons. The objective of this study was to understand the lived experience of individuals who used psychotropic drugs to cope with the problems faced in daily life. A qualitative study guided by hermeneutic phenomenology was carried out. In-depth interviews were conducted. The experience was grouped into two themes: experience of using psychotropic and the search for non-pharmacological approaches. Psychotropics were considered necessary for regaining a point of equilibrium when the problems faced were recognized as having a high degree of difficulty. In some cases, the drugs were perceived as insufficient for solving the problem, leading or not to the search for alternatives to deal with the difficulty.