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Comment by xena | Hacker News Reader

If you ever want to experience pure hell, go on antipsychotics for a month. They totally eviscerate your ability to be creative. I was given them during a misdiagnosis of mental health issues and I think I'd rather choose to be homeless instead of going back on them for any reason. Also don't make the mistake I did and quit them cold turkey. If you don't taper them off, you can have seizures. Not fun.

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Not to take away from your own experience at all, but you can't make sweeping statements about psychiatric medication like that. As far as I know most of them are very personal, and it's quite common for any given medication to be a terrible experience for some while it's a life saver for others.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience with them, but that wasn't my experience. The antipsychotic I am on helps me immensely in not being sucidal and being able to live some semblance of approximating a normal human life.

This is noted as a common and serious side effect that many people experience. Unfortunately it's also noted as a symptom of the common diseases these medications treat. It's seemingly a mess of figuring out what parts of suffering are medication related or disease related. This is why this discovery in the article is so fascinating - science doesn't even know what causes this in the first place, thus it's impossible to decipher which is which. We just know it can address some symptoms in some people and in general some feel the tradeoff is better.

Your ability to be creative is a distant second to being able to take care of yourself.

You are not the only consideration, there is also the rest of the population. It’s not like we have some endless “West” you can go to and be by yourself.

When problematic people get put away, historically, it’s jail. Psychiatric institutions were considered an alternative that was better. Yes, way back in the day they quickly became really bad places, but if done better, are a far better alternative than what we do today.

I used to live near one. I remember they had extensive gardens because gardening was therapeutic for some of the patients, low cost, time consuming, had a reward, etc.

Should be obvious, but ability to function triumphs ability to be 'creative'. Hell with creativity in fact. It comes last in the list of priorities..

Not if your ability to make money is predicated on your ability to be creative.

I can tell you're not an artist

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