I've been on the med I was afraid of so many times now that I don't fear many of them. Clozaril was the last one I feared and mostly I feared going on it b/c had to rapid taper Seroquel. The greatest fear would be clozaril not working which would leave me with very few options. I think ECT is next and that doesn't scare me much for whatever reason.

I agree that lithium was a great drug for me, despite repeat toxicities. It kept me more stable, less psychotic and with less cycling for years.

I was afraid of lithium when I was first given it, Seroquel for many years b/c the psych facility I worked in had a dr who used it to snow people and I thought that was how it worked. I thought zyprexa sounded awful; it was like drinking water. Etc, etc, etc.

One thing I had to give up which probably helps is that non-life-threatening side effects are just things I have to accept and do what I can to work with. I don't get to say that I want to quit b/c I don't like the weight gain because there isn't anything to replace that med. That probably made meds less scary because I accept them as they are and do what I can to help make them tolerable. Not fun but necessary.