There are plenty of people who live lives they would never be able to live without medication, and without many of the harmful side-effects being discussed. As

There are plenty of people who live lives they would never be able to live without medication, and without many of the harmful side-effects being discussed. As far as I know, almost all people taking medications for serious mental illness suffer serious side effects from them, that's just a fact. I am not trying to convince anyone to stop taking medication, some people might really be even worse off without them, I am just saying that it is a very difficult decision for a good doctor whether to put someone on psychiatric drugs or not, and whether to keep somebody on them. I speak from my personal observations of close family and friends who had mental health issues and were put on drugs, and from reading summaries of current research e.g.: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipsychotic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipsychotic Antipsychotics are associated with a range of side effects. It is well-recognized that many people stop taking them (around two-thirds even in controlled drug trials) due in part to adverse effects. -- In people with schizophrenia less than half (41%) showed any therapeutic response to an atypical antipsychotic, compared to 24% on placebo, there is a decline in treatment response over time, and potentially a biases in the literature in favor of these medication. ... If you have another opinion, I would love to hear where does it come from, do you have any kind of evidence that would counter what I said?