This lithium thing is laughable. They lean on a fake study that claims 100% efficacy in improving mood. I'm here to tell you it doesn't work that way. My psych

This lithium thing is laughable. They lean on a fake study that claims 100% efficacy in improving mood. I'm here to tell you it doesn't work that way. My psychiatrist (trained in Forensics) insists that I have bipolar disorder and nothing else. She exclusively pushes bipolar medication, because I can't possibly suffer from anything else that can be treated any other way. She knows full well that lithium intake (as well as other drugs I've taken, such as Risperidone) nearly always leads to weight gain and obesity. I can draw clear and unambiguous lines from my hospitalizations to my weight gains--even after losing 180 pounds, I porked up again to all-time highs. These gains are chiefly due to my loss of self-esteem and confidence, but also to drugs. Gynecomastia, partly because of Risperidone, perhaps also due to obesity itself. (Don't let them pretend that gynecomastia is limited to adolescent boys; I'm 51.) She also became quite anxious when I reported high levels of caffeine intake, but her concern for my anxiety was a mere façade: caffeine disrupts the activity of serum lithium and accelerates its elimination from the body, therefore invalidating any therapeutic levels that we might achieve by pill intake! So go ahead, guzzle that 2L Pepsi Cola, it will relieve the nasty adverse effects! Long ago, upon my mid-90s "bipolar" "diagnosis", my father recounted a 100% B.S. anecdote of a small Italian village where they discovered everyone's mood was so mellow, and it was because of natural lithium deposits in their groundwater. I knew it was B.S. and I was appalled that my scientist father could believe such fairy tales, after teaching me everything about chemistry, biology, and geology, far beyond any college education I later obtained. The physicians prescribing drugs also tag-team each other to see who can induce "side effect synergy". This is a syndrome that has no clinical term, because it's a dirty secret. Once you are on 3-4 different drugs, collate all the possible side effects, identify the ones you're suffering and the ones that may pre-exist, and you'll find that there's almost a deliberate escalation of adverse effects as they add more medications to your arsenal. There is good news, folks; I am drug-free for 60 days as of this writing, and I feel better than ever. I have identified a regimen of supplements which I take faithfully, and supplements make me feel good, not ashamed and not oppressed. Supplements are food! That's perhaps disingenuous: I do indeed take drugs - Traditional Medicinals teas are unambiguously natural drugs, to regulate my blood pressure, treat anxiety and agitation, and relieve pain and assist digestion. I have no trouble taking natural drugs; it's the pharmaceuticals that are toxic and overall, cause harm. Since going drug-free, my diarrhea was relieved and I've lost nearly 20 pounds. My goal is 60 more pounds away and I'm confident, with divine help, that I can succeed with this. Of course, weight loss is a permanent lifestyle commitment and not a fad diet or a month in the gym. But it's the single most healthful thing we can do for ourselves; the benefits are limitless.