Just a different point of view here. Medications have saved my life literally. Without my psych meds I would have killed myself years ago. That is even in sobriety. I work the program of AA and apply the steps and principles in my life daily sometimes hourly. But there is something chemically messed up in my brain. I have considered dropping all of my meds but when I have attempted that I have always wound up in the same place, suicidal and insane all the while knowing I am insane. It is a scary place to be when you know your thinking is insane but can not do anything to change it, your head just keeps going. So for me life is a balance of medications, therapy, and AA. Although I do try to keep the medications to the bare minimum as I do not feel that more is better with them. I agree that the side effects of medications can make things worse, that is why I partner with my doctor and when med changes occur it is because I communicate with my doctor and we weigh the pro's and con's to make a decision that is what I feel I can live with. Not every doctor I have had has been willing to do that. For anyone who has a doctor that keeps pushing more and more meds without you feeling like you have a say in things please find another doctor. There are also naturalpaths that have helped people who do not want to utilize conventional medications. So there are many alternatives to just completely stopping all medications and living with an out of control disease.