Very well said! In fact, it’s been long-documented that the so-called “side effects” that people associate with schizophrenia — the jerky movements, head rolling, etc. — are actually effects of the antipsychotic meds.

It has also been proven for a long time that 1.) people who are not placed on long-term, daily doses of antipsychotics for schizophrenia have much better outcomes than those who are (which is not to say they shouldn’t be used very briefly as crisis intervention) and 2.) these meds significantly shrink brain matter. We also use doses much, much higher here in the US than in other countries. It’s a travesty.

One side effect of psych meds that is particularly insidious is called akathisia. It’s an internal sensation of turmoil and restlessness; when you’re sitting, you have to stand and pace, when you’re standing, you have to sit — and it’s pure torture. And the even more tragic part is that when people have this side effect, many docs will assume that the person’s dose should be INCREASED, because their behavior is part of the underlying organic illness. It’s not. And it’s treatment that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. It is a huge cause of suicide in the mentally ill (and of course, people end up blaming the illness rather than these god-awful side effects from the meds).

The only job that psychiatrists have nowadays is to prescribe meds. These insane cocktails of neurotransmitter agents. And most of the time, they’ll decide what med they want to put a patient on and THEN, based on that med (often because of a financial interest in it), they make their diagnosis. It’s sick, and it needs to stop, but good luck convincing the general public. They’ve been sold a bill of goods for so long, if you try to tell them about what is going on, they assume you’re crazy. And good luck getting people to believe someone with mental illness about what the treatment is doing to them. Tragic, all-around.