Let me weigh in here for a moment, since there seems to be some misinformation running around in this thread.

Not all psychiatric medications can cause additional health problems or health risks. Yes, all psychiatric medications have side effects. But these generally don't rise to the level of disease or a serious health condition that needs additional attention.

The biggest problem research has discovered is weight gain on certain SSRIs and virtually all atypical antipsychotics. Weight gain may lead to diabetes in some, but not all, people. Especially if nothing is done about it.

There are no absolutes in any field. One person may take an atypical antipsychotic and gain only a pound or two. Another person might take the same drug and gain 30 lbs. It probably does no one any good to make sweeping statements about "all" this or "all" that ... because our community is not a debate forum. It's a support forum, first and foremost always.

So yes, there are some potentially serious health problems that can result in taking certain types of psychiatric medications. Every person who takes one should look up this information online -- there's a wealth of good, reliable information on each drug online.

Please remember the community guideline, too, that you shouldn't speak for others, or paraphrase what their saying into some sort of generalization they may have not specifically made or said. It's probably best to share one's own personal experiences, good or bad, and leave it at that. Everybody's mileage on a given med or class of meds is going to vary and your experience may not match mine or someone else's.

Thanks for letting me help clarify,
DocJohn