This thread reminded me of my friend. He's going to school to be a psychiatrist and honestly I wish he was my psychiatrist. He's so helpful and very intelligent, I actually feel a little out placed since he's much brighter than me and doesn't have a very warm personality, but a calm professional one which is odd at our age (low twenties). He told me he will only prescribe meds to his patients if they are exercising. I asked him about taking a certain med before and he said start running instead, so I have and found that I didn't need that other med. Exercising releases natural chemicals in your brain that help with mood and if you're active enough you may not need to take meds. He says less people would need meds if they exercised daily and not just by walking, but actually exercising like running. If everyone on this forum vigorously exercised daily less people would be manic and/or depressed, but not everyone likes exercising which is a shame.