Volume 6 Issue 7 July, 2016
❌All the medicines used in treatment of mental illnesses are addictive
✅Most of the medicines used in treatment of mental illnesses are non-addictive except a few like Benzodiazepines and stimulants which have potential for addiction.
❌Once started, psychiatric medications cannot be stopped for lifetime
✅Many psychiatric disorders, except few severe, recurrent and those diagnosed at late stages, do not need lifelong medication for symptom control and gaining back decent functioning levels.
❌Psychiatric Medications always produce serious and disabling side effects
✅Excluding few like potent conventional anti-psychotics, many other medications have milder side-effects. Many medications when judiciously used especially for long term, benefits often outweigh side-effects.
❌Psychiatric medications result in weight gain and disfigurement
✅There are very few medications which have serious weight gain as a long term side effect but many times weight gain is more often due to reduced physical activity, which may be a part of illness by itself
