I once wrote a blog post about not googling all your medications side effects, especially mental health medications. I said it does nothing but add stress and anxiety and it can make you imagine side effects that aren’t real.

I stand by that post, but I also want to expand on it.

I recently joined a few bipolar support groups on Facebook. I haven’t done this before because my disorder is fairly regulated and I haven’t been having problems with my medication, but I thought it was a good idea to have a sense of community.

One thing that I notice a lot of is people saying their doctor is putting them on a new medication and asking what it’s done for people. I get the concept, if it’s done good things for people it’ll make you worry about it less, but the fact is the reverse is also true.

There is one bipolar medication that made me suicidal. It was the worst possible side effect from the medication and yours truly got it. It’s a popular medication that a lot of people use and a lot of people have success with. It just didn’t work with my chemistry.

Saying that though in the comments of a Facebook post isn’t going to do any good, in fact it could easily make someone refuse to take it, and who knows, it could be their miracle drug that stabilizes everything.

We have dozens of different medications in different classes because people need different medications. Mental health fixes aren’t one size fits all.

So before you post that warning about how a drug is the worst one you’ve ever been on, think about the consequences to those words. Don’t be the person who made someone pivot away from what could be their miracle drug.