The books are both new and used, but all in lovely condition...lots of collectible books, many antiquarian.

Venus, I am well aware of the negative issues that meds have caused for me. Weight gain and cognitive impairment being two problems. I lived for the first 23 years of my life without meds and I was mentally and physically on a roller coaster ride of EXTREME mood swings - some manias that ended up with me in trouble in school, in dangerous situations because my judgment was inappropriate, EXTREME anxieties and depressions that would leave me screaming in very physical pain on the bathroom floor. I had OCD issues that were so severe I could not get through a math class with a grade higher than "D". Everything...my thoughts, moods, feelings...was so unpredictable from day to day (or hour to hour) that I most probably would have ended up dead or in prison had I not opted to take psych meds.

I still say that there's a spectrum. My mental illness went toward the high end of that spectrum. Please understand and please believe me: I could not control my state of being and I was in agony. Medication saved my life. YES, it saved my life. That said, I don't deny that meds also do damage. For me, it's not about being "easier". It is about being able to LIVE.

Michanne, thank you for your post. I agree.