This Thursday, I’m hosting an Instagram Live on something we don’t talk about enough in psychiatry:

Side effects.

Not in the rushed, checkbox way.
Not in the “well everything has side effects” way.
But in the real, nuanced, human way.

Because here’s what I see over and over in my practice:

Someone finally gets the courage to start medication.
They feel a little better.
But something else changes.

Their libido drops.
Their digestion shifts.
They gain weight.
They feel emotionally flatter.
They’re more tired than before.

And no one ever told them this might happen.

The Problem Isn’t That Medications Have Side Effects

All medications have side effects.